Rewind, Remix, Replay
by Lianna-snow
Summary: Its kind of AU. bringing back an old character to cause some mayhem in NYC throw in a  Jealous Beckett who will in turn create more problems for Castle. Contains all characters. will try to make it a fluffy at times  Caskett based. Rated T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

Rewind, Remix, Replay -1

Hi guys, this is gonna be a multi chapter story. This is my first try at one so im still trying to work the kinks out. I hope the beginning is different from usual stories... That was kind of my intention. thanks for reading! and please enjoy!

She never stayed in one place for long. It's not that she didn't want to do it. She just couldn't. It was like there was a yearning to try more new things after going at a few, and that was how it all began. She finally found that one person that had the potential to make her stay grounded, and she made the biggest mistake of her life by running away from him; and she left all the repercussions of her actions behind with him. But now, she's going to change all that. She's coming back to get her second chance. Meredith Rogers is coming back to take action, as Rick's wife, and Alexis's mother; and she will do whatever it takes to win Rick's heart back.

Two days later she was in a cab in New York, heading to her ex husband's apartment. It took alot of her courage to knock on his door but being a trained actress, she waved all of her uncertain emotions away, leaving only her confidence and outwardness.

"Richard~ I'm back! To stay this time, and I'm not gonna leave no matter what you say!" She shouted into the house and saw a very grumpy Martha walking down the steps.

"Goodness me! It's the wannabe come again. What are you doing here Meredith?" She asked, with a slight coldness of her voice.

" Where's Rick gone to? And Alexis?" Meredith continued her exploration of the penthouse, poking her face into the nooks and crannies that she used to be so familiar with.

"Well, I shouldn't have thought any different. Richard has gone down to the precinct to do work and Alexis has gone to school. Things which I don't think you've successfully done."

"Fine fine. I'll come back with Alexis later. I'll leave my luggage here for the time being." She dropped off her mountain of bags on the couch before walking out the door. Cursing at herself for not remembering that Martha hated her. Darn it.

The moment the door closed. Two people on the bed in the far end of the hall leapt up and ran to the door.

"Why is she here? She could have seen you!"

"I have God to thank that Mother despises Meredith so much. But no, I don't think she is smart enough to notice the shoes outside."

" The coast is clear kiddos. That woman won't get past me, I'm still able of that!" Martha popped her head through the door and announced.

"Yes Mother, you are still very young." Richard leaned over to kiss his mother on the cheek before walking out of the room.

Martha looked over at a downcast figure sitting by the bed.

"Martha I wasn't even supposed to be here. I haven't told him my feelings yet. Do you think it's a sign?"

" Kate, that woman wouldn't know a sign if it came up to her and hit her in the face! Much less even be able to BE one. Don't look so worried. Go take a shower."

As she shyly walked away, Martha sighed to herself. My god, what am I gonna do with these two?

An hour later, the two were silently walking into the precinct when a redhead charged right into Castle's arms.

"She's here Dad! Help help! She pulled me out of school again!" The young girl whispered as loudly as she could.

Beckett smiled softly at him and patted Alexis on the back before walking down to the morgue to talk to Lanie. Ever since the shootout, Rick has been extremely cautious when talking to her, like she was a fragile piece of glass. She hated that. Beckett wanted the Castle teased her endlessly about anything, who annoyed her to bits and came up with entertaining theories to cheer her up on a boring day.

When Lanie saw her face, she immediately checked around for any signs of her shadow, before pulling Beckett into the room and locking the door.

"Lanie what am I gonna do? I didn't even get to talk to him before his ex wife came, and I got into bed with him to hide and then Martha saw us and thought something. " she began rambling after that so Lanie put her hand up to shush her.

"okay. Hold up girl. Gina's back?" She gave a look of disbelief for from what she heard Richard and Gina ended things badly.

"No. Not her. The Twinkie.. Meredith. She's back to stay this time." Beckett's voice dropped in volume after every stop, until she was silent. Lanie reached out and hugged her disappointed friend.

"I thought... I thought he loved me. He said so, right? I heard him... I wanted to tell him but I didn't get the chance to. Lanie, I think I love him."

Lanie did a happy dance in her head but remained straight faced at her best friend's confession. She's gonna get her 100bucks that the guys have just lost.


	2. Chapter 2

Rewind,Remix, Replay-2

A/N: hello there everyone! Thanks so much to all of you guys who have favourited this story, alerted this story, it really means a lot to me. Since you have been so great, I specially did a longer chapter for you. Well, longer than my usual 800+ words. Who knows? I may even increase my word limit… I will have a long author's note for the next chapter so yes, don't worry it has already been written Alright, I wll let you guys read first, instead of going on and on… please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer- is caskett making out in that far corner of the precinct? No? Damn! Looks like Mr Marlowe hasn't read my letter of protest yet. Nah… I don't own em.

Chapter 2

Meredith waited calmly at the seating arena beside the breakroom. Richard was in there and she wanted to see him. Detective

Ryan had told her to wait there and she was going to. She wasn't going to move and look around like she really wanted to. Alexis had run off to get a drink but she was taking a while, at first she got worried but hey, they were in a precinct! That's the safest place to be!

"Meredith? You can go explore if you want, just take Esposito with you. I know you're dying to take a look around." Richard smiled that smile that made her knees weak and she grinned as he popped his head back into the room where he was talking to the Captain and Beckett.

A dark skinned man walked out of a nearby room and offered to give her a tour, he was probably Esposito, she thought. He's cute. They spent about fifteen minutes walking into the different rooms until Castle offered to take her home. Just then, Alexis peeked out from behind him and waved to the other detectives, indicating that she was quite familiar with the people here. Meredith began to wonder if the pretty detective and her ex had anything going on between them. However, she soon pushed these thoughts out of her mind as Richard and Alexis were walking off without her. She got up and ran after them. Her heels echoing in the hallway long after they reached home.

Her biggest impact probably was Beckett, as she could not concentrate at all, so the Captain sent her home knowingly. Beckett, upon reaching home, took out a bottle of wine and downed it in 5 minutes. Unfortunately, She got so drunk she couldn't think straight.

The next thing that she noticed was Josh, right next to her. And it was morning. They broke up last month and she swore never to see him again. And here they were, in her apartment, on her bed, having done god knows what last night.

Oh my god, she thought. What the heck am I gonna tell everyone if they find out? Or Lanie, at least. He'll never forgive me.

At that moment, Josh stirred and tightened his arm on her shoulder. She instinctively shrugged it it off and struggled to push away the thick blankets and get as far away as possible from her ex.

It was when she reached the bathroom that he caught up to her.

"We need to talk. About last night." She said as she turned around to face him.

"I kind of figured. But at least let me tell you what happened because there is a huge possibility that you don't remember what happened since you were so unbelievably drunk." Josh said as he leaned against the cold sink for support. When he didn't hear a verbal argument, he continued.

"In fact, I never thought you could end up so out of your mind that you called me. You seemed pretty sure when we broke up."

"I was- AM. I am sure." she stuttered as she clutched her throbbing head.

"Was it him?" He knew. Well Josh had always known. The only person who could make her so out of character was Richard freaking Castle. Then again, he always woke up and asked himself why they were still together when it was utterly obvious that he was a distraction. His evidence came just after that summer when he found her at a bar looking distraught and they began dating. Her behavior completely changed, she spent more and more time at the office and with Castle, and with himself, she was less willing to stretch her schedules but when Castle called in the middle of the night proclaiming a theory, she would dash out of his arms just to meet with him.

So In some way, he'd always known that he had been second best. And yet, he loved her so much that he couldn't resist one more night when she called him at his house. He knew she would outright regret it and dismiss him, but he had to try.

But at this moment, when he saw her expression in the bathroom, it made him want to claw his insides out at what he'd done.

"You knew I was drunk. And yet you still allowed me to do this. Get out of my house Josh. And even if some day I accidentally call you, DONT even think for a second that you're welcome back here. " with that, she turned away and shut the door. Leaning back against the bathtub, only releasing her sobs when she heard the front door close.

Then she bawled like there was no tomorrow. She cried for her shame, cried for her mother, cried for Rick, but mostly for all her mistakes that she had made that caused her to lose everyone.

"Good morning Meredith. Mother, Have you seen Alexis this lovely morning?" Castle said as he walked towards the kitchen where Martha was absentmindedly stirring her coffee.

After seeing something was amiss, he turned to his ex wife, who was chewing her toast casually, in front of the TV.

"Ah, I assume the two of you have finally taken notice of each other and had an arguement." he paused for effect and saw his affirmation when the two ladies turned his way.

"Don't worry Dad. It wasn't about you." The small redhead appeared behind him and gave him a hug before whispering "next time, please wake up earlier so I don't have to eat Meredith's cooking. Love you!" and kissing him on the cheek, and skipping out the door.

He grabbed a plate and watched the two women go about their duties separately with interest. His focus returned to his plate for a minute when he took his first bite. He made a face at Martha, who mouthed "you should have appreciated MY cooking." back at him.

Since Beckett didn't call, he decided to stay home and write. Not to mention keep an eye on the two women who apparently can act even more immature than him. Well, SOMEONE has to be the grownup here.

It was about noon before he decided to take a visit to the precinct and see how deep they were stuck in paperwork.

As the elevator rode up, he reminded himself that Beckett had no feelings for him and he should respect that by toning down on the flirting. He didn't want to get in her space, especially since she was looking more stressed and tired these few days.

The bell dinged and Ryan greeted him warmly as he stepped out. "Hey bro, that for me? Thanks, I'm famished." he grabbed the coffee put of his hand and took the Chinese takeout and gave it to Esposito, who was calmly staring at the computer. Watching a football match.

Wait. Something was wrong. Where was the snark comments if someone else took her coffee? Where was the commanding voice that told him to move it? Where on earth was Beckett?

Seeing his confused face, the boys responded by saying

"didn't you know? Beckett called in sick today. She also requested for a resignation form. We don't know when or if she will be back."

They left a stunned Castle standing in the middle of the room and silently went back to whatever it is they were doing before.

It was a good thing Castle often did things without thinking because two hours later, he wouldn't have picked up the phone to call the only other person who could talk to Beckett.

If he had thought about it, he would have known that Beckett would have killed him for meddling and Lanie would have scoffed at his desperation to keep her in town. And in a way, he was.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review to say what you thought. Even if you hated it. It may give me a suggestion or to for future chapters. Have a good week ahead!


	3. Chapter 3

Rewind, Remix, Replay-3

Hey guys. I don't really find this chapter that good. It was a little rushed and therefore I think the characters are OOC. I sincerely apologize for that. Its because beckett was shaken up and didn't think it through. Her behavior will be OOC until she can finally accept it, which wont take too long since I want beckett to return to her normal self too.

Please be patient with me, I promise it will be better soon.

Disclaimer- I can drop a request but I don't think I own it yet.

Beckett put down the phone with shaking hands. She loved her job. She loved the people who worked with her. She loved the man who shadowed her. And she couldn't face him after what she had done. Not now. She needed some time away. Then maybe she could have the courage to come back.

She scampered around her house, packing all the things needed for a long vacation to an exotic country where Castle wouldn't come after her. Therefore, she needed her sunglasses, bikini (even though there was noone she wanted to show it to), her money, a lot of tops and jeans etc, plus a few of castle's books that she couldn't live without: Heat Wave, Storm Rises, A Rose for Everafter etc. Her mother's ring, and after about an hour of packing and debating if this was the right thing to do, she shut the door of the cab she hailed and directed him to the nearest airport.

Her resistance wore down as she scrolled through the list of names on her contacts list. Her fingered hovered over one name and she hesitated before calling. She let out a small sigh of relief when she reached the answering machine before leaving a short message.

"Running away miss?" the old cab driver asked through the mirror.

She gave him a surprised look and he chuckled. " I've ferried many people to the airport who were running away. They always have the same look on their face: conflict, regret and sadness, with a hint of excitement. Let me tell you something. Fate will always step in and surprise you."

After that long speech, Kate silently contemplated her decision before redeciding to go. The cab driver seemed to understand and said nothing else to her after that.

But something felt very familiar about his voice.

As she stepped out of the cab, she heard his voice again. Only this time, she could identify it. "Katie. Don't go. Don't run away. She wouldn't want you to. She would have wanted you to face your fears. " She turned around with tears streaming down her face and ran back to hug her father.

"Dad, I really can't face anyone when I can't face myself." she sobbed. "I don't know what happened. I don't think I used protection. I was drunk and stupid and-"

"It's okay. Katie, Look at me. If anything happens, I will protect you. Did you take a test?"

"N-no. Like I said, I wasn't thinking."

"Well, go take one now, and then if it's nothing to worry about, then good. If not, then we can talk about it." He gently nudged her to the convenience store and patiently waited till she came out, before driving her back home.

After a minute or two, he flipped his phone out and sent a text to someone he knew who would be waiting anxiously.

He was pacing the floor nervously. He didn't want Beckett to leave, especially not because of Meredith. He'd hate himself forever if he knew it was because of him. He wanted to drown himself in worry.

"Really Rick, you don't need to get so worked up over.. Karen is it? It's none of your business."

"It's Kate. She's my best friend, and I care about her. And she doesn't just leave, so it had to be something big. So yes, it IS my business. "

Thankfully, Meredith chose to shut up right there and then, and Alexis came back from school with a sad smile on her face. Immediately, his father instincts kicked in and he ran over to hug his daughter.

"Hey pumpkin, what's the matter?" he asked as he carassed her soft reddish-bronze hair.

"Nothing dad. Ashley and I had a fight." she mumbled.

"Well! I didn't know there was a boy involved now. We can go shopping! Retail therapy always works best." Meredith chose that moment to butt in and Castle cut her off by saying Alexis just needs to relax and talk about it over ice cream. With that, the young red head smiled gratefully at her father as he went to the fridge to get some chocolate and strawberry flavored ice cream. Not to mention the mountains of toppings which Meredith took very little pleasure in beholding. After all, 'sugar will make you fat. Abstinence is key.' was one of her life rules.

"So, tell me Alexis, what is his name? What school does he go to? Is he rich?"

"Ashley. We go to the same school. No. Average. " came her short reply. Much to the former gossip queen's disappointment.

"Ashley? Oh my goodness. Alexis are you a..." Meredith dropped her jaw in astonishment.

"NO! Mom! What are you thinking? Ashley is a guy's name too!" Alexis was appalled and insulted greatly. What kind of therapy was this?

"What is all the shouting about? Is Alexis home? I thought I heard her voice." Martha made a terrible fuss when she was disturbed during her afternoon nap but she had a soft spot for her granddaughter so she always made an exception for her.

"Hello Martha. Sorry to wake you, but Alexis was having some boy troubles." Meredith said politely.

" And having you ask so many questions is helping the situation?"

"I wanted to take her shopping. But Richard said no." She gave a weak pout that Martha was immune to, thanks to her son.

"come on guys, let's just be nice to each other, after all, Alexis doesn't need to be worked up right now." Castle came out of the kitchen holding a few bowls and spoons with a nice ice cream buffet lined up for them on the table.

It took a while for everyone to settle, but after that, there was so much smiling and laughter that noone noticed a phone beeping with an incoming message.

He sat there. Dejected and alone. He had tried to win the woman of his dreams back but he knew from the start that he couldn't. And now he just f*cked everything up. He didn't use protection. What was he thinking? Kate was extremely serious about these things. Maybe he just wanted a chance to be part of her again. If their was a child involved, she wouldn't leave him. It was extremely selfish, but he was desperate man in love.

He contemplated his decision. As he held the gun in his hand, he thought about everything he was giving up. Was it worth it to do this before finding out whether she was pregnant? Or rather before she came over to kill him herself.

Just a game of Russian Roulette then, nothing serious. He fingered the single bullet as he slid one into the gun and spun it. He held it to his head and he could almost hear his heart pounding with every second he waited. His finger was on the trigger. Almost.

"Is anyone here? Ted?" a sudden voice came from the door and made him jump and drop the gun. It clattered to the ground and effectively startled his visitor.

"Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong apartment." A petite blonde stood shocked in his doorway. "I was looking for my, um, friend, but I think I mixed up the addresses. The door was unlocked so I thought I'd... Well anyway, I'd better go."

As she turned around to leave, Josh stood up and grabbed her arm.

"wait. Why dont you tell me about him?"

"what? Why?" she seemed befuddled and Josh quickly reassured her.

"You've obviously some problems. Maybe I can help. I'm a doctor. Besides, I have time." and she saved my life. He thought.

"Alright." Josh found himself smiling for the first time in a long time.

Thanks every single one of you who have read my story. A big hug for everyone who has put this story on alert. A giant cookie for everyone who has left a review!

Please leave a review to let me know how I'm doing because I don't really like this chapter… and I want to know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

Rewind, Remix, Replay-4

Hey guys! I can't express how happy I am to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I'm especially grateful to all of you who have favorited this. Thank you so much. I was honestly not expecting anyone to take notice of this story and when I got a few emails, I almost teared up because I was so happy.

Oh right, i know some of you are kinda worried by the pregnancy thing so don't worry! I won't be so cruel, since *cough cough I hate Josh. But for one thing, I don't hate Meredith, and I wanted to make her a nice person for this story. I mean, Richard DID love her during a period of time.

Also, I just wanna specially thank- castlebeckett siempre, castle crazy, and scarletblusssh for their awesome reviews:D and everyone who Favourited and alerted this story:)

okay, sorry for the long speech... Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: if I did own this great show, castle and beckett would be making out in a supply closet by now.

Chapter 4:

Two weeks later

Esposito PoV

It wasn't hard to see that Beckett was hiding something. Her behavior was off and she was getting annoyed more easily. Even Castle was laying off this time. To be honest, I was surprised that Lanie didn't know what was going on. We discovered her plan to run away about a week after she came back suddenly. The captain gladly allowed her to continue her work and after about a week or so, things seemed to go back to normal.

Except for the upsetting fact that Beckett only talked to us when it was a directly case related. She even stopped us from coming along for interviews and stuff. If anything, Castle seemed the only one that she has spoken two words not case related to after she returned.

It was weeks before Lanie finally succeeded in pulling Beckett aside and dragging the secret out of her. It was Josh, as I expected. That bastard had crossed the line. No wonder Beckett has been so ashamed lately, I hope Castle will be able to coax her to tell him herself. Because as much as me and Ryan would want to tell him, he wouldn't benefit until Beckett told him.

Well, he should first shake off that woman that came to find him last time, it's probably why Beckett got a little pissed and left.

Hey! Don't look so surprised! I'm a good cop too!

Noone PoV

The precinct was unusually quiet that morning. Then again, it's been unusually quiet since Beckett came back. So unusual had become usual.

No body popped, so it was mainly a paperwork day. When Castle walked in, Beckett immediately told him he wasn't needed and asked him to go home. Instead, he pulled her hand and dragged her to the stairwell. Of course, it would have been very unsightly to see Detective Beckett screaming as she went. Therefore, in order to protect her reputation, she unwillingly relented without making a scene.

At the rooftop, he finally released her hand and felt a sharp sting on his left cheek. He gazed into her anger flaring eyes and saw past that, to see her unguarded and miserable self. The one hiding behind the anger and silently wishing him to embrace her. He reached for her and pulled her to him, letting her sob into his shoulder. His shirt will be wet but he didn't worry about the rumours spread by the other detectives in the 12th, the only one he was worried about was right in front of him, and he would gladly anything just to keep her in his arms.

After Kate finished crying, Detective Beckett came back and pulled away from him. Castle noticed, and freed her body, only to take her hand again. He tilted her chin to see her glazed eyes that to him, made her even more beautiful.

"Kate, I want you to tell me what happened. We're partners and I deserve to know after all we've been through."

She silently looked up at him, and finally found her voice.

"It's Josh. You know we broke up last month. I got really drunk one night and slept with him a few weeks ago."

"that's all Kate? Oh-wait, protection?" his eyes were wild with disbelief and worry. She feebly shook her head and pulled her lips into a thin line.

"KATE! You have go get checked out! What if-"

"I'm not. Pregnant, I mean. I mean, it was a negative. " she saw his relief and gave him a weak half smile, which he understood. She didn't want to explain any further about the situation, and she just wanted to put it behind her. He smiled warmly back at her, which put her mind at ease.

"Castle, I have to ask you something, about Meredith?" She looked up slightly and saw his confused expression (which she found extremely adorable) and dropped her eyes so she would be less embarrassed. " are you guys-"

~You're so hot (so hot), too hot to handle

It's so rough (so rough), there's nothin' left to try

I have a thing for your love, but we've both had enough

Because you're too hot to handle~

Castle's phone rang just at that moment, and since it was obviously Meredith, (Beckett inferred from the song lyrics) she backed off and gestured for him to answer it.

"well, speak of the devil! I'll just get this. We are not finished with this conversation kate. " he smiled jokingly at her and she tried her best to smile back while holding her emotions back.

"Hey kitten! I want to take Alexis out for dinner, you know, like a girl night, is that okay?" he could almost picture the two red heads plopping down on the couch and chatting happily. And strange enough, that picture made him smile.

"Of course! I'm glad you're spending time with her. You know, I've wanted to ask you, how long are you in town this time?"

"I've taken a hiatus. I told my manager that I needed to spend time with my family. I'll probably be here awhile. It's been a while since we had a meal together, how about we grab lunch tomorrow?"

"You know what? Sure. For old times sake. We can discuss the place when I get home. "

After putting down the phone, he found that Beckett had already left and went downstairs. He began to remaninsce about the times he had before his first divorce. It was rocky, but they were a family. He knew that meredith regreted leaving him, and for all he knew, his feelings for her haven't dissolved completely. I mean, she was his first wife, they have a long history, and they have amazing sex together. Plus it came with no strings attatched as what she called it.

All that changed when alexis was born. He had always wanted to have a family and he tried his best to keep it together while Meredith continued her galavanting. It wasn't long before she had an affair, and he didn't want Alexis to grow up with her as a big influence. So he divorced her and took care Alexis single-handedly. 'And now that she probably wants to reconcile, shouldn't I at least give it a try?' He thought to himself. On the silent rooftop, the mist made the clouds seem lower, admist the peaceful silence of it all, Rick felt like his thoughts were resonating in the empty space and became slightly self concious. Then the moment ended by him thinking of a suitable moment to use this setting in Heat Rises.

"Dad, I've been thinking. About mom. I just... is she staying? Like, for good?"

Richard looked up from his computer at his daughter. This was a very sensitive topic and he knew that she was probably conflicted with her feelings.

"Do you want her to?" he felt like that was his safest answer.

"I've grown to enjoy her company lately and I was wondering if you could ask her while on your date tomorrow? You know, before jumping into bed?" she gave him a knowing smile before kissing him on the cheek to wish him goodnight.

He looked at the clock after a long round of typing, it was already midnight. Therefore, he quickly packed up and tried to exit his study in a quiet fashion so as to not wake his family. Unfortunately for him, luck wasn't on his side and his phone suddenly rang, causing him to tip over a box on his table as he unsuccessfully manuvered through the maze of things.

There was a small crack and he immediately set his things down to pick it up. It was a small framed picture of him, Meredith and Alexis, taken a few years ago when she came to visit. It was one of his favorites and he went upstairs with it in his hand. Gently fingering the smiling faces as past memories overcame him.

It was only when his phone vibrated again when he was in bed, that he checked it. There were two new messages. The first was from Kate, she was asking if he was awake, and if anything was amiss. Seeing that as unusual behavior, he dialed her number, having memorized it, without reading the second text.

She picked up on the first ring.

"Castle?" he thought he heard sniffing. Had she been crying? Josh was the first thing that popped in his mind and he began to flare up.

"Kate, what's wrong?"

"You're okay, right?" she replied with a hint of hesitance and he quickly got up and changed before running out of the house without answering her.

"Castle? Rick! Are you okay?" her voice was becoming panicked when he didn't reply.

" Yes, yes. I'm coming over so don't shoot me. " he called out into the phone as he pulled out of the car park.

He had never driven so fast in his life to get to a place, without the intention of annoying Beckett.

When he walked into the building in a hurry, the security let him in, knowing he was that pretty lady's friend.

She opened the door after the first knock. Her eyes were red and she looked pale, but she still had the presence of mind to wrap her arms around his waist and bury her head into his chest. They stood there for a while, embracing in the hallway, before Castle gently nudged her inside the house and she obeyed willingly without releasing him from her.

Okay guys that's it for this chapter:)

Please drop a review if you can, it is really encouraging during this hiatus:P I wish everyone a great week ahead!


	5. Chapter 5

Rewind, Remix, Replay-5

Hey everyone:) hope you guys are still coping okay for the hiatus. Don't worry! There is less than 3 months left till the next season. I can't wait:) okay I know you guys probably want more caskett scenes don't you? So this chapter is all fluff and almost no development otherwise.

I wanna thank- CaskettShipper, castlebeckett siempre, for their reviews.

Disclaimer: Right, I own them. That's as true as my teacher saying it's fine to hold a gun against the girl I hate in my class.

Chapter 5

Castle was just standing there. In the shadows, she watched him being beaten by his captors. His face was cut and bleeding, but he refused to show any weakness. She wanted to run up to him and kiss him, tell him everything was okay, and arrest the men, but it was as if her feet were nailed to the ground. She couldn't move and suddenly, she saw a glint of a knife and she could barely move her mouth to scream before it was plunged into his chest. Her breath caught as she saw it all in slow motion, with the small crooked

smirk on the soon to become murderer's face.

The scarlet blood was pouring out of his chest and she realized that everyone was gone and she was alone with his body. Her eyes filled with tears when she found herself looking into his empty eyes and touching his cold stiff body. Then, she found herself looking into her mother's eyes and she couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

She woke up shaking and with tears spilling down her cheeks. With his name on her lips. Dialing his phone with trembling hands, she put down the phone before it could ring. She wasnt going to be able to explain herself in this state, so she texted him instead. It took awhile for his reply and she was silently relieved that he was coming over. She anxiously paced the floor until she heard a knock.

Seeing him face to face did nothing to stop her tears but it made her want to touch him. To feel him, to make sure he was really there, to hold him like he knew how she felt. It felt so good to have his arms drawing comforting circles on her back. It made her relax, so when he gently pushed her into the house she complied and pulled him to the couch. She lay on his chest with his arms around her, slowly stroking her hair and her arm.

After a while, she began to drift off to sleep again.

When Castle went to the bathroom, she woke up and was calling for him. She was mumbling "Don't leave me." over and over. He kissed the top of her head and cradled her in the crook of his arm. It seemed to calm her down alittle. She Looked up at him and related her nightmare to him. "I couldn't stop them. You were dead and I couldnt tell you. I saw my mother." it was all in broken sentences but Castle pieced enough of it together to understand that she was shook up and he wasn't going to leave her.

"Stay? Please? Just for tonight." She looked so scared that he pressed her petite body to himself, not minding at all that she wrapped her arms around him again.

In the warmth of their bodies, Kate slept with no more nightmares, knowing that he was next to her, and not leaving her. While Rick lay awake, his tiredness gave in and he too, slept with the sound of Kate's steady breathing guiding him to dreamland.

Rick wasn't surprised when he woke up alone. He heard the sound of water gushing and got up to make a cup of coffee and some breakfast but found that the fridge was filled with takeout boxes. Wow, she really needs to get out more often. He thought. So he left a short note on the couch and went to the nearby minimart.

She stepped out of the shower feeling slightly more rejuvenated. She called his name once, then twice. He left. She was not surprised but rather, disappointed. She filled out her regular cup of joe and sat down wearily on the couch where she could still smell his scent. She was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn't hear the door open.

Kate's reaction speed was fast. She had her gun on him in a second. Rick had a lucky break and managed to pin her arm to the kitchen table. She retracted her arm in embarrassment. " I thought you left..." she said awkwardly while turning her gaze to the floorboards.

Rick raised his eyebrows and Kate finally noticed the small slip of paper on the couch covers and blushed. He ignored her guilty expression and offered her a takeaway coffee. Then he headed to the kitchen and soon there was a wafting scent of omlette and toast.

It had been forever since she ate breakfast at home. Much less have someone cook it for her. In fact, the last time was when her dad came over once on her mother's death anniversary and they stayed up all night huddled together. The memory brought tears to her eyes but she wiped them away when he walked out of the kitchen smiling. Though Castle was known for being very loud and talkative, he knew when to shut up and take a step back. So, he blatantly ignored her red eyes and tried his best to give a big smile and act like nothing was going on.

"Beckett! You've got to try my newest creation. I'm gonna call it Campé A la Becks!"

"since when do you call me Becks, Castle?" she smiled up at him teasingly. Thankful that he was trying to lighten up the situation. She took a bite of the half toast/half eggs, and was surprised to find that it tasted quite good. Too good... Castle burst into a fit of laughter after observing her suspicious expression change to surprise then to pleasure then to suspicious again.

They chatted and laughed about almost everything, and Beckett didn't mind when he casually draped his arm behind her head midway of their conversation.

Neither of them realized how late they were until Kate's phone vibrated.

"Beckett..." she answered somewhat reluctantly.

"C'mon Castle, we have a case." she got up and walked out the door after he took the car keys. Just as he was about to walk out, he remembered his lunch with Meredith.

After a pause, he figured that murder was a good reason for him to accompany Kate. Well, at least before she turned into Detective Beckett again.

thanks for reading!

Oh I need your opinions on my word count. Are the chapters too short? Or is there enough caskett moments? Or do you want esplanie? Please leave a review to let me know! Thanks:)


	6. Chapter 6

Rewind, Remix, Replay-6

Hey everyone:) how was your week so far? I hope to try and hit at least 15 reviews before chapter 8. So, if silent readers would care to leave a comment, i would be grateful! Plus, if you have good ideas, i may incorporate them into the story:DD Anyway, just wanted you to know, I decided to have some special guest stars waltz in for a few chapters. Just to see if anyone likes it. If you like it, I'll have more character appearances:D So this chapter is slightly longer than usual. In fact, its one of my longest ones... Anyway... PLEASE ENJOY!

special mentions: I would like to thank keal, castlebeckett siempre, for reviewing:) you're the best! * offers some ice cream*

Disclaimer- I could hold poor Mr Marlowe captive but still not own it. *sobs*

The redhead tapped her fingers impatiently against the counter, as the young receptionist happily packed her many purchases into separate bags.

"You got a boyfriend?" the older woman asked.

"Nope. My mom says I can't date until I go to college." she glanced up with a quick smile before turning back to her work.

"Mothers. They don't understand do they? Trust me, having mothers-in-laws are worse." Meredith flashed an understanding grin and was glad to see the girl smirk and shake her head in reply.

She was supposed to meet Richard for lunch, which explains the gorgeous red dress and stilettos. Unfortunately, something came up and he ditched her. She finally understood how he must have felt when she left him. To want someone and find that that person chose something else over you. Or someone else. She was not as dumb as Martha thought. Of course she had seen the way that detective looked at her ex. She obviously had a thing for him. And he probably liked her too, from the way he responded to their open teasing and flirting. Technically he wasn't hers yet, so Meredith still had a chance to win him. And boy did she have competition; but as long as there was still a silver of a possibility, she wouldn't give him up. Not again. Now, all she had to do was speak to the detective and make her understand where she was coming from. Then perhaps everything could get back to before... She happily sipped her tea with a sigh, and leaned back in her chair with a smile on her face.

-two hours later-

She found herself in a, what most women would find awkward and embarrassing, situation. Here she was standing outside the detective's door, when she heard Richard himself laughing inside. Could they be? No, he wouldn't. Not when he was allowing her to stay at his house. That wasn't Richard-like. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Oh. Meredith. This is a surprise. Castle just stopped by for lunch and and we got carried away. Please come in." Kate's face peeked through the gap of the door, clearly embarrassed, and quickly pulled it open.

"Hey Meredith! You wanna join us? There's plenty of room! " he gestured to the seat next to him. Meredith gave him a small smile and sat next to him, purposely taking the seat in which Kate was sitting.

Midway through the movie, Richard went to the bathroom, leaving Kate and Meredith alone. Meredith saw her opportunity and seized it. She turned to Kate and immediately said " Kate, is it? Do you love my ex husband?" Kate was astounded by her straightforwardness and couldn't say anything. So Meredith continued.

" I want you to know, that I will be chasing him too. And even though you are welcome to do the same, I'm quite sure Richard will choose me."

"and how are you so sure?" Kate shot back, unwilling to go down without a fight.

She smiled. " well kate, as obvious as to anyone who has eyes, Richard probably has feelings for you, but we have a history. I mean, you probably would have never met if I hadn't left him. So you're just a "replacement" till I return." meredith smirked as she saw that her remark had hit a nerve.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to see who he picks. I suppose you have some rules to follow? " she looked up with newfound determination and something else. Fear. Fear that he will never know her feelings. Fear that he will be taken away from her. It was this fear that propelled her to make this un-Kate like decision.

"Alright. We can't tell him about this competition. We aren't allowed to use anything to win him over, like Alexis."

"And sex." Kate added, giving a pointed look at her.

"...and sex." Meredith agreed.

"May the best woman win~"

Just as if on cue, Richard strolled into the living room and smiled at the two ladies shaking hands. They both sent fake grins to him which he ignored.

The rest of the evening passed amicably until Richard and Meredith bid Kate goodbye. Then Kate walked calmly into her room, grabbed her pillow and screamed into it.

It was just another day at the crime scene. Well, except it wasn't. It was the first day of the competition and Beckett was unsure of what to do. She had rang Lanie up in the middle of the night and gotten no answers because of the constant bombarding of questions.

Well, the one good thing that happened was her checking her phone messages in the morning. One of them was "Hey there bestieee~ how are you doing? Remember how you always said you wanted to meet my consultant just to see if he and yours are just as annoying? Well now you can! I'll be in town for a conference on Saturday. Some leadership thing. Anyway, I don't leave till Wednesday so I thought we should meet since I have to bring my consultant along too. Let me know soon, I'll be touching down on Friday night. I can't wait to catch up with you Becks. "

Becks. Well she hadn't heard that name for almost three years. Only her bestfriend since university, Teresa Lisbon, had called her that. They used to spend hours on the phone chatting while studying law and training together. It was too bad they were sent to different states. Teresa, or Lisbon, as they now called her, was sent to Sacramento to work as a supervisor for the Serious Crimes Unit for the California Beareu of Investigation, while she was stationed in New York.

She distinctly remembered their last phone call. They were complaining about their new consultants. She was moaning that Castle was a pain in the ass and Teresa had said that her consultant, Patrick Jane was worse. And the company actually paid him!

For the first time in days, she relaxed and leaned back in her chair, knowing that at least there was something to look forward to, other than murder. So, she somehow got the courage to pick up the phone and dial.

Meanwhile...

"Meredith, I really didn't think YOU would be the one to take ME on a date! This is an interesting change for once. " Richard smiled as he cut the chicken the waitress served.

"Glad you like it. So, tell me. How are things with detective Beckett?" she gave a small lopsided grin as she scooped up her salad.

"What do you mean?" his brow furrowed slightly and Meredith was trying hard not to reach up and kiss him right then and there.

"It's nothing. Don't get so defensive kitten. If it hurts I won't mention it again." she looked back at her food to hide her embarrassment. She was still trying to bend the rules. If she couldn't make an effort to change, how can she be with Rick?

Just at that moment, her phone rang. "hello?" she spoke.

"Meredith. It's Beckett. Is Castle there?"

"Yes. In fact, he is. Why are you calling me?"

"Tell Castle to check his phone and then call me back. Thanks." Beckett said shortly, before putting the phone down.

"That was odd. Detective Beckett just called. She wants you to check your phone."

It took a moment for him to register but then he remembered. He had left his phone on silent because he was going on a date with Meredith and she at least deserved his attention. After all, she seemed to be serious about rekindling their relationship.

Two new text messages popped up, interrupting his thoughts.

-Castle! Why aren't you picking up your damn phone? We need to talk. Call me as soon as you see this. -

-Hey Castle. Sorry about the tone in the other message but I want to know if you're free on Sunday? Or if you aren't, what about Monday? Don't get any ideas. My best friend is coming to town for a few days and she wants to meet you. So please let me know ASAP. You know what that means right?-

He couldn't help but smile at her last message. She could be adorable at times. Even if he would never be able to tell he without getting shot. Man, the woman had fast reflexes... So he couldn't resist typing a fun reply back to her. He could almost picture her in his mind, trying her best to hold a straight face, while probably giggling in her mind.

- Aww detective :D I'm touched that you told your BFF about me. (see I know what BFF means. So how can I not know what ASAP means? It's quite strange that you would think that.)-

Her reply came immediately.

-yeah yeah. Funny Castle. You didn't answer my question.-

He paused for a while after reading the message. It couldn't hurt, could it? It's just a lunch. And it's NOT a date if other people are there is it? He thought. Before he knew it, he had typed out a reply and pressed send, with an unsure expression on his face.

Thanks everyone:) so You know who the special guests are don't you? Haha I kind of "borrowed" the characters but I thought it would be fun, after all, I have been dying to try to make a scene with them.

So, love it, or hate it? Please leave a review to let me know so I can plan the rest of the story!


	7. Chapter 7

Rewind, Remix, Replay-7

Hey guys:D Alright thanks for the good response to the new characters:) haha this is gonna be fun:D they will probably be around until maybe next chapter or so? This chapter is chocked FULL with fluffiness specially for Mentalist and Castle/Jisbon and Caskett fans:D but sorry, this is a T rated fic... No sexy scenes:P no matter how much i wanna write them. So if any other readers don't like/don't know them, sorry:X but you can tell me who you want to guest star and I may do it:D so feel free to tell me:DD

yay! i have completely bypassed my usual word limit:D teehee thanks to my weakness for crossovers. im kinda in a grumpy mood because i couldn't download my mentalist videos... stupid site:( but i 3 your reviews that always cheer me up!

Thanks to castlebeckett siempre, jmarie1219, kie Santiago, for their reviews:):) *hands cookies out*

Disclaimer- if I owned this amazing show, I wouldn't need to go to retail shops and discount stores.

"Passengers, the plane has started it's descend to New York. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts as we will be arriving soon. Thank you for riding United Airlines."

The plane slowly began to dip, and the pressure dropped. A man reached across his seat to the woman asleep next to him. And tickled her.

"Ah!" she shouted out. Blushing furiously when everyone turned to look at her in confusion. " Damn it, Jane! Why the hell did you do that!" she whispered harshly as she tried to tone down her voice.

Patrick Jane laughed softly and gave the woman a cheeky smile. "Aww, Lisbon. I was worried that you would be in shock if you were asleep and you felt the air pressure dip. I thought you'd be grateful, to say the least."

Teresa Lisbon. The woman of his dreams who was almost unattainable to anybody. She was his best friend and he couldn't have been more happy when she agreed to go for a date with him two months ago. Since then, they've reached third base and beyond, plus they have continued to remain unnoticed by the other agents... Well, except Cho.

"Somehow, Jane, I find that extremely hard to believe." she smirked.

Patrick Jane. The one and only man who she could love and hate at the same time. She had loved him for so long and when he finally asked her out a month ago, she had nearly jumped him in happiness right then and there. She got her chance to do so after a few dates. Now, they were full fledged and successfully avoiding hightower, their boss.

The ground was visible but the plane hit turbulence and Lisbon grabbed onto the handrest painfully. Until Jane gently put his hand on top of hers and started rubbing small circles on it, knowing that it would calm her down. He allowed himself to smile when she finally began to relax and her breathing was less stressed.

She leaned into his side gratefully, glad that they could have PDA without worrying about people they knew seeing them here. Smiling to herself as she felt him kiss the top of her head softly, she turned to him and pressed her lips against his. He immediately kissed her back, but pulled away just as she wanted to deepen it. Seeing her obvious disagreement, he pecked her pouting lips quickly before turning away with a smug grin and leaning to the other side.

The plane landed without a fault and Jane went to get the luggage. Lisbon was still slightly pissed at him and was giving him the silent treatment, which obviously left Jane unfazed. So, Lisbon decided to drop her childishness for a second and called her other best friend. One that didn't quite annoy her as much.

"Hey Becks! I've just arrived at the airport. Do you want us to wait for you or head to the hotel first?"

"Lis! It's great to hear you! I can't believe you're really here! How bout you guys head to the hotel first and then I will meet you for lunch?"

"Sounds good!" plus it will give me some time for revenge. She thought, her face turning to mischief at the tap from Jane.

"I'll call ya then! Bye!" Kate smiled as she too, put the phone down.

They flagged a cab in silence and the silent war continued until they reached their suite, and then Lisbon snatched him by the collar and pulled him into a hot and passionate kiss, pulling away just for a moment to shut the door, and dragged him to their bed.

Castle was writing, for once. Beckett seemed more cheerful that morning, and had even left early to meet someone, a friend, she said. He suspected it was the people that they were supposed to meet that week. Although there was a chance that... No, she wouldn't take up another relationship after breaking up with Josh so soon.

"Richard?"

"Dad?"

"Son?"

The three calls chimed all at once. He never knew how they always were able to do that. Sadly, he knew he could never ignore them with these tones. He reluctantly shut down his laptop and paced out the door slowly.

"There you are! Richard, Alexis is going with Ashley to a dance tomorrow. I want to take her shopping. Is that okay? Plus, Martha mentioned she would like to join us. "

"Pleeeeeaseeee daddyyy~~" Alexis suddenly showed up on cue to provide the cute pout while dragging out her words like she used to do when she was nine.

"I think it's a good idea for us red heads to bond." Martha smiled as she came out of the room all ready to go out right then and there.

"Sure. Why not?" He agreed distractedly while glancing at his phone that was vibrating.

"Wait. What? What happened to Mr 'No way is Alexis going to a dance with some guy.' ? Are you really Rick? Or have you suddenly come from another planet? Or worse! Did you just go into the Pharoh's Tomb? It's never a good idea..." Meredith suddenly burst out.

Castle was surprised by her change of attitude. Since when had she ever listened to a word I say? He thought.

Maybe Meredith really is changing... For the better.

The last thing he heard was Martha and Alexis agreeing with her about some alien thing.. Okay, maybe his whole family became aliens...

After everything was said and done, Lisbon finally answered her phone as she curled up in her lover's arms.

"Yes?" she replied in a sedated voice because she was too spent to think of anything else.

"Ahem. I think we were supposed to meet half an hour ago at the restaurant downstairs. " came a familiar crisp and sharp voice.

"Shit. I'm so sorry Kate, let me get him and we will meet you now!" Lisbon was flustered as she snapped open her luggage and pulled out a new pair of shorts and a tee shirt. She ran into the bathroom and locked the door, having Jane around was distracting to say the least...

Meanwhile, Kate was downstairs getting bored out of her mind. So bored that she texted Castle just to have her hands occupied.

-I'm bored.-

-Why, my dear Detective, you're quoting ME?, now I'm interested. How may I help you?:D-

-Can you make lunch today? It's not a date. Don't get any ideas.:P-

-Sure. I would be glad to meet your friends Detective. You know I would never say 'no' to you.-

Beckett slid her phone shut after sending him the address, and she looked up when she heard the sound of hurried footsteps and suddenly she was enveloped in a tight hug.

"K-becks! I've missed you!"

"So we're back to T-Lis and K-Becks eh? Nice to see you again Lisbon." she smiled as she returned the hug. She noticed a really hot guy (if she must admit) standing a few feet away, looking slightly awkward.

"Right. Introductions. Jane, this is my best friend, Kate Beckett. And Kate, this is my...um. consultant, Patrick Jane." Kate was sharp to notice the slight pause and blush at the word consultant. She gave Teresa a look that said 'we will discuss this later.' Now she finally understood how Lanie felt...

"Aww. I missed the introductions? That's the best part!" Kate felt herself smile when she heard his voice and felt him step up behind her.

"Castle, this is my best friend, Teresa Lisbon, and her consultant-"

"Patrick Jane? Yeah, I know him. It's great to see you again Patrick." Rick grinned at Jane before shaking Teresa's hand.

"To address your question, we met a long time ago at an interview where Richard here was doing research for Derrick Storm." Patrick gave Kate a crooked smile when he saw her shocked face.

"How did you-"

"do that? I have magic powers of mind reading." Jane commented, earning himself a slap on the shoulder from Lisbon.

"Shut it, Jane. Stop gloating. Don't look so amazed K-Becks, he's just really observant. That's why people call him the Mentalist."

"Nah, it's just that you're easy to read." he argued back.

"And you're easily played." she smirked.

"Only by you, Lisbon. And you know I only let you win, because I know the rewards of being obedient ." he whispered the last part in her ear, making her flush madly at the thought of what they were doing earlier.

Kate allowed a happy smile to cross her face when she watched the two converse. They were just like Castle and her, completely in their own world and disregarding everyone else when they banter. It was easy to pick up the signs that they were together, to a normal person they might just be good partners but it was they way Lisbon leaned slightly towards him when he whispered to her, the way their fingers were touching when they stood next to each other, the way their eyes rarely stopped glancing at the other unless they were glaring intensively at someone. Or rather someone, else.

Kate found herself watching Castle out of the corner of her eye, just making sure he was there with her, and not walking off somewhere. He probably noticed it since after a while he came and stood next to her and remained there.

The rest of the evening consisted of Jane and Castle going to the Old Haunt for a drink, leaving the girls alone for some girl talk.

"So, tell me all about your secret relationship with your 'mentalist'?" Kate leaned towards Teresa and teased.

"If you wanna put it that way, what about you're obvious love for your writer boy?" Lisbon smirked as she didn't falter for a second. See? Working with Jane made her learn good comebacks too.

"Why does everyone call him that?" Kate tried unconvincingly to change the subject. Making Lisbon almost burst into a fit of laughter.

"You got it that bad, huh?"

"I don't know."

"Kate, it was really obvious to me. How obvious do you think it was to Jane? You're lucky if he isn't telling Rick all about your 'undying love' for him right now."

"Are you kidding me? I knew I shouldn't have let them meet. Now they're gonna annoy us much more." Kate sighed in exasperation.

"Eh, Jane will be fine. I know how to tame him." Lisbon said with a shy smile.

"oh yes. I have to ask, as a BFF must take this responsibility." kate looked at her seriously and Teresa seemed slightly troubled at her sudden change in demeanor.

"Is he in the Top 10?" Lisbon was visibly relieved but the question somehow brought out some fake uncertainty. She nodded slightly, blushing.

"Top 5? oh wait, that's an insult. Is he in the Top 3?" Kate pushed, finally seeing her response. Her face was red with embarrassment ut she leaned forward to say in a low voice "Topped it."

"Now who's got it bad? Good job Lis." Kate grinned as Teresa gave her a feeble slap on the arm which she swiftly avoided.

"Anyway, Jane can be really sweet when he wants to. I'm sure Castle just acts like a kid. He and Jane are quite similar actually..." she trailed off after thinking for a bit.

"NAH..." They both said at the same time.

The two girls clinked glasses and continued to talk and drink until the two guys came by to pick them up and take them back.

Thanks for reading you guys,

Next chapter- the Boys talk, the real outing, and MORE MEREDITH VS BECKETT! hahaha. At least I didn't have a cliffhanger:D

Please leave a review after reading, Like I said, I would like to hit 15 reviews before I start writing chapter 8. And yes, i' extremely serious about it =P Of course I wouldn't do this often, probably just this once. it's just because I want more suggestions:) oh here's a bonus, the more reviews I get, the longer the next chapter will be:) oh let me know what you think of the girls talk. i may add more of it in the next chapter

But thanks to all who have Favourited/ alerted/ reviewed this story already:)

Have a good week! And I'll see you next time!

Lianna~


	8. Chapter 8

Rewind, Remix, Replay-8

Hey everybody:D alright thank you sooo much for reviewing the last chapter:) I'm thankful to have such great readers! I'm really happy that you guys like Lisbon and Jane too! They're one of my fav couples as well. And I wasn't sure if my writing was acceptable, so I apologize if the characters are lightly OOC.

Thank you to scarletblusssh, castlebeckett siempre, and CaskettShipper, for the reviews! 33333 you! omg 15 reviews! I'm so thankful to all of you~ *offers a plate of chocolates*

Disclaimer- unlike Andrew Marlowe, I wouldn't have tortured fans with Josh... So no, apparently I don't own it:(

-—-

The bar was more crowded as usual. In fact, more so since the news came out that the writer's ex wife has come back to town; but of course, the moment the writer and the psychic walked into the bar chatting, people quickly got up and left their seats, making room for them.

"So Ricky, is this a new friend? What will you guys have?" The barkeeper smiled.

"Two glasses of the finest. Jack, This is Patrick Jane, the famous psychic." Rick said, as he patted Jane's shoulder with pride.

"I can make you give the drink to us on the house, if i wanted to." Jane chuckled as he sipped the cool drink.

Jack was stunned partially out of surprise and partially because of the humor in his eyes.

When he turned away to attend to another customer, Jane turned to Castle. "So, when are you gonna ask her out?"

"Excuse me?" Castle feigned innocence but the mentalist saw through it at once.

"It's obvious you have feelings for your partner, Kate Beckett. By the intensity, I would guess that was for..about three years? But I wouldn't be too worried, since she has the same feelings for you too."

Rick tried to hide his stunned-defensive expression but Patrick grinned and smiled with a knowing expression. He began to reflect on the changes he made for Teresa and smiled when he reconcluded that it was all worth it.

"You know, I also didn't want to admit I had feelings for Teresa. We met about three years ago when Red John murdered my family. I started working with her and sparks flew."

"Tell me about it. The sparks make it so hard to resist, except that she was taken, in my case." Rick cut in, as he put his head in his hands.

"well, to be honest, she was taken too."

"Are you serious?"

Jane nodded sheepishly before giving a laugh and continuing his story. " I first found out when she was willing to give up her whole career that she loved, just to help me. She blackmailed her trusted friend and partner that she loved, to help me, a guy who always took advantage of her soft spot for me." At this point, castle lifted his head out of the circle his arms created. Seeing that he had succeeded in getting his attention, he added " It wasn't until she started dating with this rich guy, Walter Mashburn, that I realized I wanted her for myself."

"Walter? He sounds like a boring guy who's just manipulating women with his money. How could Lisbon fall for a guy like that?" Rick interjected and Patrick smiled like a master observing his student and discovering his weakness and a way to help him.

"That's what I asked myself for a while as well. I couldn't understand it so I drowned myself in alcohol and self pity for a while. It's very pathetic, but after a while, Teresa noticed me distancing myself from her especially. So she got upset, to say the least. She was in a bad mood for the next few days, snapping at everyone except me, since I was ignoring her, until Cho forced me to go and make up. I reluctantly did do that, and almost got killed with her shouting at me and throwing staplers etc."

"Sounds like Beckett when she gets pissed with me. Although we are either make up quickly or start a cold war, in which noone wins. Just replace the stapler with a gun and you will see a huge similarity." Castle chuckled and leaned back on the seat, and ordering more drinks. Jane made a quick glance at his phone, it was a text from Lisbon, asking him and Castle to come over to meet them. After noting the silence from Castle, he looked up and resumed his tale.

"I thought it was over and I was fired from the team, but the next day, I found a message while she was drunk, saying that she loved me and she only dated Mashburn to make me jealous. So, I went to her house at midnight, saying that I loved her and expected a scolding but instead, she kissed me and... Well we made up...pretty well that night, and the next day I was ready to leave if she wanted me to. Thankfully, she didn't. And here we are, together, after a month of dating, and still going strong."

"Well, that was a great story. She must be good in bed. You know, I think you would make a good writer, I should put it in Heat Rises." Rick teased, knowing Jane and Lisbon probably hated the spotlight like Kate.

"Haha. Thank you. Its fine, As long as only Rook and Nikki get to do it. Anyway, we should go and meet up with the girls, we can talk again when we next meet up, you know how impatient women are." Jane could barely hold in his laughter as he saw Castle's shocked face as he extended his hand and pulled Castle up before just walking out the door, throwing a grin behind his shoulder.

Rick checked his own watch, blindly noting the time before rushing out after Patrick, dropping a tip towards Jack in the process.

'It was already 11pm. Rick would have called to say he's coming back late wouldn't he?' Meredith was getting anxious especially since Alexis hadn't returned home yet. "Maybe he is with Kate? Well if he was, then it would be rude to interrupt them. After all, i did initiate the contest." she muttered.

Martha had left early for a date and had mentioned that she wasnt coming back that night. It only creeped her out a little since that Martha was still dating at her age, after all, they were both actresses.

She decided to text him just to make sure he was okay.

-Richard are you alright? Please call me when you receive this.-

When he didn't reply, she panicked and grabbed her bag and left the house with a note for Alexis. There was only one place she could go where they would most certainly help her.

Beckett had finally met her match. She had never seen this type of competition before, not like this. She never had the chance to show off her skills and now she may just get the chance to do so. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as her opponent gulped down her twentieth glass of alcohol with ease. She did the same, sighing as she glanced at the door, wondering what else was going to happen tonight. She turned back to the empty glasses and ordered another round for the both of them.

"Oh. The girls are having a drinking contest? I want in. What about you Jane?" Castle put his hand on the table and saw the empty glasses and he turned to Jane and asked.

"oh to hell with it. So do I. But not for too long." He agreed after a slightly tipsy Lisbon gave him a pleading look and pulled him down to sit next to her, and leaned back against his chest. After that, she turned in her seat and signalled for the waiter. Man, he was getting business tonight.

Castle and Jane each downed twenty glasses quickly so they were equal with the girls. That was when the real game started.

"Hey, let's up the stakes a bit. Winner gets to hook up with whoever they want tonight. And the other two have to hook up as well." A very drunk Lisbon suggested and the rest were too high to disagree.

Lisbon was the first one out, simply because the others were better. Rick already drank and he wanted to remain conscious on the way home so he pulled out after thirty.

Kate and Jane were still going strong and neither wanted to give up the win. Kate, because she knew that if she lost, she'd have to hook up with Castle and she would be breaking the rules and that, in turn would drive him to Meredith. Jane, simply because he wanted to give Castle a chance with Kate, and also, Lisbon looked even more irresistible when she was drunk. And speaking of which, he was feeling tipsy as well.

Finally, Kate had enough presence of mind to remember that she had to work and having a long hangover wasn't gonna help it. So, she tied to use a slight of hand trick she learned from her school days to tip the drink slightly and look as if she HAD drunk it when indeed, she had not. Unfortunately, she was caught and before she could finish tipping the drink, Jane interrupted her with a smug laugh that made her blush and look away.

"Beckett, Beckett, Beckett. Seriously. They don't call me a mentalist for nothing. So, since you cheated, I supposed I win. I obviously choose Teresa. That means you and Rick here, will have to hook up." Castle gave him a 'don't bully her' look but Jane freely ignored it. Besides, Lisbon would get super hurt and pissed with him if he chose anyone else, so technically, he didn't have a choice.

"Oh yeah, to make sure you actually DO do it, we have to go to a hotel with two rooms side by side. " Kate's eyes widened with surprise. No freaking way. She wasn't gonna lose the bet and chase Rick away because of this. She knew how this would end up. Meredith would somehow find out and win the bet because she didnt put out, and once she was back to sleeping with him. She wouldn't have a chance...

Unfortunately, having a drunk best friend and psychic drag you out the door was kind of hard to get away from.

They reached the hotel in about 10 minutes. After Jane and Lisbon went to their room, Castle and Beckett silently stood outside the door, contemplating whether or not to go through with this, or get out of it somehow.

"Uh, hey. Do you wanna go in? We don't have to do anything. I mean, you need to sleep, since you have work tomorrow so you can have the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor if you're worried I'll do anything. "

"It's fine. I trust you." She replied with a voice that even Rick could barely hear her as he stood beside her.

They spent like forever just looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes, waiting for the other to make a move, before Castle turned Kate towards him with a simple touch on her cheek, and kissed her. It was a simple brush, but it ignited flames of passion within him, and incontrollable longing within her. His hands reached up to tangle themselves in her hair, and her own were grabbing his collar pulling him closer to her.

After a second of blind grappling, Rick got the door open and pulled Kate inside as she allowed herself to let go and fall against him.

okay im really sorry for the length, but I was beginning to worry about the deadline since I almost missed it. Sorry for the rushed out bits… but to make up for it, I will do my best to finish the next chapter fast and include whatever you want in it. So please leave a review to say what you think I should include in the next chapter, seriously. And if it doesn't fit with the chapter, I'll include it in some other way. So, hope you liked the guy talk… it was kind of hard to do but it was fun to write. So once again, thanks for reading and have a good week ahead.

Lianna~


	9. Chapter 9

Rewind, Remix, Replay-9

Hello:D yes, as promised, I shall try to include your ideas in this chapter. Well, since it seems like most of you guys want Meredith NOT to crash Caskett's party... I had to rethink my storyplan but I think it turned alright:D thanks for your suggestions everyone!

On a separate subject, I will keep my promise to you, but for all the readers who have don't like the M rated part, I suggest you skip it. I marked the sections out with a 'M' sign. So you can read the part after that:D

Thanks to kie santiago, castlebeckett siempre, CaskettShipper, For taking the time and effort to review the last chapter.

Disclaimer- I have a tumblr, I have a facebook, I have a fanfiction. I don't have a Castle, no matter how much I want one. (AWWW can't I just have one of Alexis' toys?)

Meredith was angry. After a full hour of asking Rick's poker buddies, and poking around Beckett's apartment, she called the police. Well, Roy Montgomery, to be exact. She hated playing the 'boss card' but she had not much choice...

Montgomery had been very helpful by tracking down Richard's credit card usage and found a hotel room payment made just a few minutes ago. Fuming, she made her way to the hotel and charmed her way past the guards. As she stood outside the door, she heard moaning from inside and she felt like killing Kate. How DARE she break the rules when indeed, she was the one who brought up the no sex rule? She had slipped a cleaner's card into her pocket and she unlocked the door at once.

She saw the two bodies under the blanket and grabbed the first thing she saw, which was a book on complex war patterns that Meredith couldn't even begin to comprehend so she assumed that it was worthless, raise it over their head and whacked them on the side.

"OWW! What the hell?" the two figures jumped up in anger, letting the sheet fall to the ground, and Meredith's cheeks turned as red as her hair and she quickly turned away as the couple scrambled for their clothes.

"Who the heck are you?" the man enquired curiously after pulling on his jeans. He is HOT! But damn it, he's taken. Meredith couldn't help herself when she saw his tanned chest.

"Hey! He's mine. Now stop staring at him and answer the question." The woman was smaller in size with raven hair but obviously loved the man with a fiery passion.

"I'm sorry. I was looking for someone else. I'm meredith. " The two shared a look of unreadable emotion and turned back to her.

" I'm sorry she snapped at you. She usually is better behaved than that." The guy said with a charming smile that earned him a playful slap from his girlfriend.

"Well, it's nice to meet you and I'm really sorry for interrupting you. I think I'll go now." she said quickly before rushing out of the door.

"Oh my god. Why did you say that?" the woman said angrily when the door closed.

"You're cute when you're jealous, you know ? Don't worry, she's got nothing on you." The guy whispered and smiled when her cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Shut up Jane." She said as she pulled his lips to hers fiercely.

-MMMMMMMMMMMMMM-

Kate felt so hot. She wanted to rip off her clothes and have Rick bury himself inside her. He had already moved his hands from her back to her chest as he began to suck on her pulse point, making her shiver in excitement.

Her hands were spread out against his chest as she tried and failed to unbutton it. She groaned in annoyance and was glad that Rick smiled and placed her hands on his chest and let rip the shirt off herself. Kate's fingers were tingling at the adrenaline of having his flexed muscles under her fingers, making her hot and wet at the same time.

"Rick. The bed. Now." she choked out as he took off her shirt and slid her skirt down to her ankles, and she bent down to finish the job. He scooped her up and placed her on the bed with ease. She sat up and pulled on his boxers, and soon it would only take a push and he would be buried inside her.

He needed to be inside her this instant. "Kate. I want you now."

"Now?" she smiled as she stopped her administrations and wrapped her slender legs around his waist as he entered her. Slowly. Making her scream his name in pleasure as she came with him. Their bodies moved together and they didn't slow down until they both were well spent and literally collapsed on each other.

She curled up into his warm embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. When his hand slowly rubbed circles onto her back, she smiled and licked his neck, biting it softly. "Geez woman, if you don't stop now, we aren't gonna get any sleep tonight."

"well, wasn't that the reason why we came here in the first place?" she grinned at him wickedly before pulling him back down to her.

-MMMMMMMMMMMMMM-

The two couples met again at the lobby, wearing collared and long sleeved shirts and turtle-neck tops.

"well. Looks like our little late night party turned out to be a success eh?" Jane teased as he watched Kate look away and Rick turn red.

His brow furrowed slightly at Kate's reaction. It wasn't an 'I just got laid by the guy I loved' look, it was a 'I just got laid when I shouldn't have' look. He only snapped out of it when his partner gently shook his arm and flashed a curious and questioning look at him. He smiled reassuringly at her and silently promised to explain it to her later, she seemed satisfied and turned away.

He caught up with Kate just as she wanted to escape this very conversation. She mentally screamed at her sluggishness this morning. She was really wiped out from last night and though she could never say it, she wouldn't mind doing it again. Every night.

"Don't try to run, Kate. I know you are hiding something, is there someone else?" he was just getting to know Rick but he was getting very protective of his friend, he didn't want this guy to be hurt because of his advice.

"No. Not for me, that is." she said finally.

"Then, I'm guessing, an ex wife named meredith, maybe?" he tested the waters before delving into the real answer.

"what? How did you know about her?"

"Well, I AM a mentalist. I could tell." he saw her wide eyes and decided to give her a real answer in turn for a true confession from her. "Although, it became kind of obvious when the woman herself barged into our room looking for him, furious. She called herself Meredith and immediately checked me out. So I made an educated guess." he gave her a look and she sighed when she knew she was caught.

"Alright. Alright. I recently discovered I have feelings for Rick, and Meredith challenged me to him. I broke the rules... So I lost him." she said sadly, with tears of defeat dripping from her brown eyes.

"Well, not if she never finds out. Remember, she found US last night. Not you two. You're still safe. But you have to tell him." he got up from the seat he was sitting on and turned to walk away. Until he heard Kate's voice calling him.

"Thank you. You're a good man Patrick. Teresa's very lucky. Take care of my best friend and don't you dare break her heart Or.. Well I'm a cop too. But my other best friend is a medical examiner." she grinned with charm and made Jane laugh out loud.

"Richard Castle is a good man too, Kate. Don't take too long to realize that or you will lose him. For good. And neither I nor Lisbon can help you."

She was silently contemplating her decision and remained undisturbed for a while. She found herself daydreaming about last night and the morning earlier.

-italics note-

Rick opened his eyes and found himself being tied up. Of course the 'ropes' were actually Kate's arms and legs wrapped around every single inch of his body. He sighed in amazement. His secret fantasy was finally fufilled in one night. He was sure that it would probably not mean anything to Beckett, and she would just use this as an excuse to avoid him. Even though this night was all he ever dreamed about ever since he first het her, although that dream had progressed from meerly wanting to sleep with her as a one night stand. Instead, the recent ones were of them waking up everyday in each other's arms. With a certain ring around both their ring fingers. Little did he know, Kate had been dreaming of the exact same thing when she woke to find herself wrapped around the man of her dreams. She immediately flushed in sadness, and pulled away, immediately missing his warmth. The sigh of Rick as he got up and went to change brought her out of her state when he took the blanket with him. Finding herself suddenly naked, she gripped the blanket again and pulled back with force.

"you know I saw EVERYTHING already, don't you? I had quite an opportunity for that last night."

She grunted in annoyance but released the blanket and shot back. "Then you don't have anything to hide either." she said haughtily. "you know what. Let's just forget about the whole thing. "

At this point, Rick looked away. He was right to make Meredith his back up, even though it wasnt fair to her. He expected the impossible. "Whatever." he choked out and he left the bedroom to change. Leaving Kate behind, slightly confused by his response.

Could he...?

Haha that's where I'm leaving it now folks:D have a good week ahead and I will update soon. School has started it's toll on me with all the exams that began a few days ago...

So please leave me a review! It helps me write:):) also, next chapter will probably be Jisbon's exit or so... But I will try to make it long...XD

~Lianna


	10. Chapter 10

Rewind, Remix, Replay-10

Hey guys:) I am so sorry for this extremely LATE UPDATE:X I have been super busy this last few days and could not come online:( I have been having endless choir practices for performances and I just had went for a National Day preview. thanks for your patience:DI know I am totally boring you with the long apology speech... I'm not too satisfied with it but anyway, here is the long awaited chapter 10 LALALA:D

Thanks to: EVERYONE WHO TAKES THE TROUBLE TO READ THIS STORY:) you rock and make my day with all the story alerts. And especially to castlebeckett siempre, blue tigress, and JellieEllie for their reviews!

Disclaimer- I do not own them until mr Andrew decides to lend me Caskett so I can kick josh's ass.

All mistakes are mine, since i don't have a beta;)

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"What took you so long? What's up with everyone today?" Lisbon asked as she picked up her luggage, all ready to go and was sitting on the bed patiently.

"Well, I found that Kate and Meredith are having a contest and I think we just helped Kate lose." Jane said as he sat next to her and let Lisbon press herself to his side. She darted up at the news and immediately regretted her little game, even though she could barely think straight with the heavy hangover she was experiencing.

"Damn. Maybe we shouldn't have drank so much."

"Aww. No. Some good things DID happen that night. But we should get going, or we won't get that final lunch before departing."

"Yes sir." Lisbon giggled as Jane helped her get their luggage downstairs and wait for the other two.

They didn't take too long to show up, but they were obviously uncomfortable and probably wanted to leave as soon as possible. It had been super awkward to see each other that morning after the night they had. They both knew that they couldn't forget it, and yet, neither of them had the guts to ask the other out. It was extremely vexing for Jane and Lisbon to watch the overwhelming sexual tension between them sizzle and thicken after that night, and have them pretend to ignore it.

Castle sat next to Jane and Beckett sat next to Lisbon on the far end. They were avoiding each other's eyes and trying their best to avoid certain conversation topics as well. Finally, Jane decided to break the awkwardness by sending them back to change and booking a lunch venue where hopefully, things won't be as weird, and the atmosphere will be electrifyingly fun once more.

"Where the hell were you last night?"

"I went drinking with a few buddies until late and stayed over. I forgot to call."

"You had us all worried, dad. Mom went searching for you all over town and was distraught when she couldn't find you."

Rick spared a glance Meredith, who sat at the side, looking away from him. From the angle he was looking at, he swore he could see the unshed tears glistening in her eyes. She was genuinely worried for him. He felt guilty and sorry at the sight of her, though a little suspicious since she could just as easily be acting as usual. He was normally sure, but this time she seemed frightfully serious, and it scared him to know that she may still have feelings for him. Feelings that he himself had put away a long time ago. Feelings that he now felt for Kate.

"Richard you really shouldn't have done that. Whether you meant it or not, you had all of us worried and it was incredibly selfish of you to do that." Martha came out of her silence and scowled. The strange intensity of it all shocked Rick into silence. He retreated into his room in defeat and revelled in the silence of it.

It was just his luck, to have everyone in a bad mood when he came back. He was exhausted and just wanted to take a shower and take a nap before heading back to the precinct to meet Beckett and go for the lunch.

"Richard?" Meredith came into the room and stood by the corner. " I wanted to appologise for searching for you last night and getting everyone riled up. It was my fault."

"It's okay. I appologise for not informing you guys and making you worried. I know you were just concerned, all of you were." Rick smiled weakly at her, before drawing her into a tight hug.

Alexis carefully tredded away from the door as quietly as possible. She knew her mom and dad still had unresolved issues in the past, but they still had feelings for each other to some extent. She was slightly surprised at her own reaction to them hugging, it was just an affectionate gesture. Yet, she had an unsettling feeling in her stomach about the current situation.

" Beckett, your phone had been ringing for the last few minutes. Could you pick it up please?" Montgomery asked from the office.

'Damn. Was it THAT loud?' Beckett glanced at the phone for a moment, and answered it after noticing the unknown caller sign.

"Miss Beckett. I heard that you have had a busy weekend. I know im interrupting your work and that was one of the rules, so I will make this quick. Were you with my ex husband last night?" the voice asked coldly. Meredith. Beckett had immediately recognized her voice and debated with herself for answer that would neither let the red head suspect anything unusual, nor give her away.

"I was with some of my friends who came to visit last night. They're flying off today and I'm heading out to have lunch with them." she said firmly. She wasn't going to let Meredith take him away so easily.

"Oh well, I won't hold you back too long. Just remember the bet. And the rules." then she hung up and left Beckett in the awkward silence.

Damn. Today was a bad day. It was just her luck that the captain was in a bad mood and Esposito called in sick. So pretty much everyone was more worked up than usual. It didn't help either that she came in later than usual and announced that she was going to take the rest of the day off.

"Listen guys, I just wanna appologise, on behalf of me and Lisbon, for what we did last night. It wasn't right and I'm sorry." Jane said as he drank up his strawberry and cream milkshake he and Lisbon shared. "Yeah, but I was totally stoned so you shouldn't have listened to me anyway." Lisbon added.

"It's okay." Rick smiled comfortingly at him, while drinking his own apple milkshake. Kate sat there and continued drinking her cherry soda in silence, but acknowledged it all the same. It wasn't something that they regretted doing, but it wasn't something they would do if they were sober either.

The rest of the lunch continued more smoothly, with hints of awkwardness between the couple, but nothing that they were willing to become a downer for the rest of the day. It was only at the airport, in which, Lisbon asked to talk to Rick in private.

"Alright. I don't know you as well as I do Kate. But I do know that you have a thing for her. Don't give up on her okay? She can be a little tough on the edges sometimes, but I can see that she really cares for you too. And I don't know the full story, but something else is happening... So just, hang in there. " At one glance, Rick knew that she really meant it, even though he didn't quite understand what she meant.

"Plus, I will say my goodbyes to you now, since Kate is probably not gonna give me a chance to do it later." She added as she gave him a hug.

" I won't make any promises I can't keep, but I will do my best to not get shot by her." He offered with a smile, fidgeting slightly since this was the first time he had ever spoken to this woman, Kate's other best friend, alone; and he was getting nervous.

"Hahaha. Ease up Rick! I'm not gonna hurt you. Yet. Well, unless you break my best friend's heart, then murder will be the least of your worries. " Lisbon gave him a playful slap on the shoulder before turning around and walking back to her boyfriend and best friend.

"I'll miss you." Beckett leaned over to hug her friend.

"I'll miss you too, but it's not too difficult to come back. Hopefully, if there's another chance someday..." Lisbon replied, while being hugged by a very reluctant-to-let-go Kate.

"Ahh. Kate.. You have to let me go. Who would have thought that you'd be the emotional one?"

"Take care of her." Jane nodded discreetly to Kate and whispered. "Its great to see you again Castle."

"Yeah. Maybe I'll give you a call next time when I'm in town for a tour or something." Castle shook his friend's hand warmly as they walked off together.

-on the plane-

"So, what excuse are we gonna make for hightower once we reach Sacramento?"

"One of us got sick so we had to extend the trip. No funny business with your seat this time. I'm watching you."

"Cho will see right through it."

"it's not like he doesn't know already."

"Oh, so you DO notice things around the office. I thought you just fantasize about me while doing your paperwork, until I come in and call you."

"That's better than you dreaming about me while you lounge in your couch doing NOTHING, may I add?"

"I love our banters together. They're always so energizing. Hey! Speaking of banter, Caskett is a good couple name right? It's perfect for them. Then why is ours just Jisbon? Theirs is much cooler..."

Lisbon leaned her head against his shoulder as he went on for a bit, and allowed herself a small smile. Things were as they should be for them, and she could only hope that things would work out for Caskett too.

Okay guys I'm sorry for this ULTRA LATE update... This is the end of Jisbon..:(:( As much as I LOVE having them here, I have to return my focus back to Caskett now:D ive been having a major case of writer's block for this chapter so I wasn't sure how to end it...

Please leave a review to say what you think and what you want for the future chapters. Who knows? What you suggest may be put in XD also, I know that this update was WAY too short, so I will try to post the next chapter faster. If, that is, my writers' block goes away…

And for anyone who wants to know, my tumblr account is (without the spaces)

c h a n g e s b r i n g d i f f e r e n c e s . t u m b l r . c o m

Please feel free to drop by and take a look:D I love making new friends:))

Anyway, have a nice week guys, until next time!

Lianna~


	11. Chapter 11

Rewind,Remix,Replay-11

Hey guys:) thanks for all your suggestions last chapter! They were really good:) okay I appologise for the beginning of this chapter in case anyone thinks it's a weird way to start a chapter...

Thanks to Blue Tigress, LocaWriterBitch, for their reviews:) some parts of the story you may recognize because i used your ideas:D credit goes to them^^

Disclaimer- the fact that I have to sit in my room thinking of new disclaimers every week should say that I don't own it:D

"Were you with my ex husband last night?" The woman snarled into the phone. Her tone was acidly, and anyone who was listening could tell that she was peeved.

The young girl quietly listened to the conversation between her mother and the woman her father loved. In a normal family, they would be the same person, but unfortunately, this wasn't a normal family. This was the Castle family. Even their last name was not normal. I mean, who names themselves Castle? "A writer would. It makes you special. " was what her dad would say when she was young. So, after so many years, the idea of being 'special' grew onto her. She was the envy of many kids, and well, their mothers... She got used to it all, and instead, made herself adapt and try to be as normal as possible.  
>Therefore, Alexis Castle did the most normal thing she could do, which was eavesdrop.<p>

She had always liked Detective Beckett. In fact, for a time, she had hoped that her dad would get the courage to ask her out, because she seemed to like him too. But that time had passed. It was the last straw after her father risked his life by tackling the assailant when she almost got shot. She had had enough. Kate Beckett had just been leading her father on the whole time, and SHE had to be the one to hug her dad when Demming came, keep him busy while Josh was around. It seemed like Alexis was always picking up the pieces of the mess she left behind.

Soon after that, she had secretly desired for her dad to give up on ever ending up with her. And for a while, it looked like it was working, they grew further apart, that is, until Josh dumped her. Then, of course, he went running back to her side to comfort her. Soon, the same old routine fell back into place.

But then, Meredith came. Alexis had actually been very happy to see her for once, even though she hadn't shown it exuberantly. The rest of her family would be quite surprised to find that she picked up quite a few acting skills from her grandmother. Especially when it came to her mother...  
>Alexis thought that perhaps they had a chance this time. Maybe she had really changed and everything could happen. They would finally be a normal family.<p>

All of those thoughts had dimmed, and the slight twang of guilt set in when she heard the detective's voice defending herself with a small ounce of fear, before her mother ended the call. But fear of what? Alexis was trying to figure this whole puzzling encounter out. Perhaps the Detective was afraid of her reputation if Meredith were to spread the rumor? Or the fact that her mother would ruin the partnership? Or maybe she was trying to win the bet because she loves her dad?

Either way, the cards were in her hand, and Alexis was determined to play for keeps this time. She smiled to herself as she stealthily made her way back to her room.

-#####-

Castle sat alone in the park across the street from the precinct. It was nearing seven, and he was due at the precinct in a few minutes, with Beckett's coffee. She had called him late the day before, just after sending Jisbon off. He came up with that couple name himself, since it seemed right. He had told her that he couldn't make the trip until the next morning since he was busy with his family.  
>And so here he was, the sun was peaking up through the clouds, forming a slight golden outline of the cloud, the dew drops on the grass were slowly dripping to the ground, the early morning chills were just starting to dissipate. And all he could think about was what he was going to do about the two women currently in his life. One that he had loved and who betrayed him, but still had feelings for each other. The other he loved but she didn't love him back. Well at least, that's what he thought.<p>

"Hey writer boy! Whatcha doing, sitting here all alone? Ooh, and in this WEATHER!" He looked up to see the dark-skinned medical examiner that plopped herself next to him on the icy bench. Her face bore the same warm smile as always, despite the weather, but it held a sort of intensity within it.

"So, what ARE you doing out here? When Kate, and everyone else, is inside ?"

"Nothing."

"That's bull. You can't sit here and do 'nothing'. Even breathing is counted as 'something'." Castle smirked at her logic, mentally noting that he should write in that speech for Lauren in his next book.

"Alright. I'm thinking." he stated as-a- matter-of-factly.

"Don't think about it. Just go up to that girl and kiss her!"

"what?"

"Ohhhh wait. She didn't tell you yet? Shit. Kate's gonna kill me. I gotta go!" She scrambled to her feet and whirled around to go, leaving a startled Castle behind, lost as ever. Then she turned and yelled back to him " Just talk to her! She's probably feeling the same way!"

He sighed softly, knowing that she probably wasn't feeling the exact (italics) same way as him. She didn't have an ex wife, a mother, AND a daughter to worry about.

0000~~~~~~~~~00000

Lanie had screwed something up, again...Kate was gonna murder her. She had inadvertently told Richard Castle that her best friend was madly in love with him and that they should get together. She bit her lip with an equal amount of anxiety and excitement as she spotted the figure get off the bench and make his way to the precinct.

"in about 3 minutes, Beckett is going to come in here and either murder me or hug me." she said out loud to the empty room. "And you guys are gonna be my witnesses. I don't care if you can't vouch for me verbally, you are my witnesses." she turned to the corpse on the operating table next to her.

"Aww Lanie. Don't vex the dead... It's hard enough as it is." Lanie turned to the direction of the voice and came face to face with a smirking Kate.  
>"I have witnesses. Don't you try anything." she warned playfully, pointing to the cadavers around her. Knowing that Kate probably would not kill her. Castle probably just missed her... Which meant he actually 'saved' her life, in a way, by coming in slower than expected.<br>"Lanie, I think I'm gonna pull out of the bet with Meredith. I mean, I cheated, and it won't be fair to her. And Castle." Lanie snapped her head up again. Kate used 'Castle' she she was trying to distance herself from him. "Oh no, you're NOT."

"I have to. Besides, it will be better for Alexis to have her mother, rather than me." Lanie was trying to desperately think of something, she could see the sudden loss of confidence in her best friend's eyes.

"Girl, that woman is busy 24/7. If she isnt filming some big shot movie, she would be shopping her ass off. What makes you think she would even MAKE time for Alexis on her freaking Birthday?" She argued.

"It's her own mother(italics), Lanie. She deserves a chance at a real family." Lanie could see the pain and held back tears in her friend's eyes and decided to let it go. When Kate was like this, she couldn't be talked out of it. She cared a lot about Rick, but she would give it all up so that Alexis could have a complete family. She must have drawn some connection to her own family, in order to have that reasoning.  
>When she finally smiled and hugged Kate as she walked out the door, she immediately texted Castle and warned him that Beckett was in a bad mood, before contemplating whether or not to tell him about Beckett's plan.<p>

Ah well, who cares? She was already going to be in trouble, why not help them get together so she can go down in a blaze of glory while she's at it?  
>She hit the 'send' button without anymore hesitation.<p>

#######

Hey guys! Sorry for taking a long time to update:( it's been hectic over here and I've only just begun my holidays. It's only a holiday for a week, and then its EXAMS:( (DUN DUN DUUUN)  
>I may not have so much time to update until my exams are over. So I apologies if my next chapter appears short or rushed, since I probably wrote it in the short break I have during school hours.<p>

Well thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review if you can! *offers reviewers some cakes* I would be ever so grateful:D you can suggest anything you would like to see in the story, and I may fit it in somewhere:P

Have a great weekend!

~Lianna 


	12. Chapter 12

Rewind, Remix, Replay-12

Hiii everyone:) it's me again:) this chapter includes THE TALK between father and daughter, since I think the last few chapters may have been a little draggy. Did you check out the season 3 bloopers yet? It was ADORABLE^^. Hehe don't mind me, I'm just an author writing a chapter and fangirling over Stanathan at the same time... You know what this means? There will be fluff in later chapters:D hahaha

My thanks goes out to Keal, JellieEllie, Togetherwewillrise, castlebeckett siempre, LocaWriterBitch, blue tigress, for leaving AWESOME reviews for the previous chapter^^ it really cheered me up and had me completing half of this chapter in a day:P lol. What happened to the other half of it? I don't know... *gets hit by readers*

Disclaimer- i live halfway around the globe from USA. How would I be able to own Castle?

Castle received the text soon after walking out of the lift. Why would Alexis want to meet him all of a sudden? and during work too. Could it be about Meredith? Or was it something more personal?

Whatever it was, he didnt want to waste any more time, so he quickly wrote and left a note underneath the coffee he placed on Beckett's desk, and walked back towards the stairs, since the elevator was taking a while. He had hoped that she would be pleased with the way he left the coffee. He quickly hailed a cab and directed the cabbie to a coffee shop nearby where his daughter was waiting for him.

~~~~0~~~~

Beckett had just stepped out of the lift to see a glimpse of his retreating form at the stairwell. The "Kate Beckett" in her had wanted to run up to him and wrap herself around him like what she did that night, and she almost did. Until the "Detective Beckett" in her took over and knocked some sense into her, and made her stand her ground and walk the other direction. She didn't have the mental and physical strength to handle herself with him now, although she would never admit it to anyone.

She spotted the coffee cup immediately. It was demurely placed and 'hidden' in a manner only which she would spot. It obviously Castle's doing and there was no doubt about it. She smiled with amusement and only then did she realize that he had been walking AWAY from the office. She whirled around to face the stairs, instinctively, even though she knew he was long gone by then.

"Hey Beckett! What's with the mood swings today? One minute you're grinning like someone just gave you a coffee and the next you're disappointed like that person was just using you. Writer Boy ditched you again, right? That's why you're so lost. "She glanced up to see Ryan and Esposito smirking away from the table behind.

"You girls jealous cause Writer Man didn't get you anything?" The two men were stunned at the use of his nickname that usually only Lanie and them used. They barely even registered that Beckett had called them 'girls'. They shook their heads dumbly and looked back at their paperwork. "Uh huh. You seen Castle this morning?"

" Yeah, he dropped off your coffee and got a text, then he rushed out to the nearest exit." Ryan replied, quickly turning back to his work. He noted that the usually calm detective seemed anxious and affected by this news.

She paced the floor for a few moments, before walking into the Captain's room with purpose in her stride. She emerged slightly relieved in a few moments, and then she grabbed her bags and left, not even saying goodbye to them.

####

The door jingled as Richard walked into the coffeehouse. It was relatively quiet. He spotted his daughter immediately, head bowed into her books, studying as usual.

He smiled to himself and again questioned if she was his daughter. For he would NEVER do that. In fact, it was his writing, english and literature classes that pulled his grades up so that he could graduate.

In previous years, half the time he could barely understand what Alexis was studying. Nowadays, Alexis had "tutored" him when she needed help with her work.

Alexis looked up when he neared her table. "Hey dad!" She grinned. Her fringe fell over her eyes with the movement, but she swished her head to the side to toss it away from her face.

"You need a trim?" He asked, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Are you kidding me, Dad? A hairband wasn't invented too long ago." she smirked and went back to highlighting a few points in her book as Rick slid into the seat in front of her and waved the waitress over.

"Apple Tea and a...?" he paused to look at her and she replied "Coke" without looking up. She finished up the notes and by the time the waitress left, she had already packed her books and stationary. She got him here to talk, and she should stick to that objective. And if she gets an A for her report as well, that's a bonus.

"Alright Alexis, you have my undivided attention now. What did you bring me here to talk about?" Rick folded his arms and leaned across the table seriously.

"Dad, it's not an interrogation. You can chill. " she said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Truth be told, she was just as afraid as he was. She was still worried about he might react to the situation.

"Is this about Ashley?" He asked cautiously, knowing that his daughter was very protective of her boyfriend.

"Oh yeah. I'm pregnant dad.. No Dad, it's not about him." Alexis tried to reason with her thoughts and felt sorry for snapping at her father when he was just being concerned. Of course. Every father would think the same way If their one and only daughter called them up suddenly during work to talk.

"It's about Mom." Finally, a flicker of understanding crossed his features.

"What about her ? Did you two get into a fight? Or did she do something you didn't like? Should I talk to her-?"

"What? No no no NO Dad! Let me explain." She cut him off abruptly with sharp hand gestures while trying to stop herself from raising her voice. "Erm. Well... I was...um... Okay, I sort of, heard Mom quarreling with someone over the phone, and uh, well, it was Detective Beckett." She managed to say it without stuttering too badly.

She took in his reaction. His eyes widened slightly, which meant he was genuinely surprised. Then, he blinked, which shows confusion. His eyebrows narrowed slightly, but then his forehead had not crinkled up. That meant he was upset, but didn't know how to respond. And then, with a blink, all traces of those emotions disappeared. It seems like all those late night reruns of Lie to Me paid off quite well in helping her read people.

"Okay. Well, did you hear what they were talking about?" he noticably emphasized on the word 'talking', making Alexis roll her eyes. "Dad, you don't have to stick up for any of them. They were making a bet on either one of them 'getting' you." To her surprise, it came out much easier than expected.

"So, they were fighting over me?" He asked, though his glee was evident.

"YES, Dad. You don't have to boast about it now. And don't tweet about it!" Alexis was mortified and slapped her dad's phone away from his phone.

" I wasn't going to tweet! I just received a text from someone." He saw that the sender was Lanie, and immediately opened it.

It said:

'If you don't already know by now, Kate and Deep-fried Twinkie just made a bet on you. Kate is going over there to pull out of it. If you STILL don't understand, it means she LOVES you. Don't be an idiot and go and find her.'

He didn't know how to react. On one hand, he was angry that both of them had made a bet on him. He wasn't just some toy or kid, that they could play with. (although he may act like it.) On the other hand, he was secretly thrilled that Beckett liked him enough to do that. Meredith on the other hand, she shouldn't have done that.. He didn't even notice that Alexis was still talking to him. "...So, dad, I just wanna say that I completely support you in whatever your decision."

"Huh?" he said, and was met with his daughter's frustrated expression. "I was trying to say that I misjudged Detective Beckett and that i completely support you if you wanna date her."

"You won't have to worry about any of them." he mumbled. "I need to go somewhere now. Sorry pumpkin."

"Oh, yeah, its okay. I understand. I'll see you at home dad, love you!" she gave him a hug as he got up from his seat. He turned back to wave at her as he crossed the road, going in the opposite direction of the precinct.

She glanced at the clock at the end of the counter. It was still early. She had time. She bowed her head and fished her books out of her bag and tried to focus on her notes, and not on the decision that her dad was about to make.

#####

Kate ended up pacing along the empty corridor outside the house. She didn't have the guts to knock on the door, but she didn't have the guts to leave either. She had called in advance but she reached the voicemail and used that as her excuse not to knock.

The lift doors opened with a chime, and when she looked up, Castle was standing right in front of her. His gaze was filled with intensity, and hers, with guilt. He broke out of it first, walked by her, opened the door and ushered her inside.

"What the hell is this, Kate?" She winced inwardly. He called her Kate. Using first names meant it was serious. He leaned on the back of the front door, blocking her exit, glaring at her. "What is the meaning of this, bet, or contest, that you an Meredith are doing?" He nearly spat the words out and it tore at her heart. She struggled to find the words to say. But what would she tell him? He certainly wasn't going to take anything she said well. So she took a leap of faith and gathered her courage to tell him the one thing that had been on her mind ever since meredith came back. He was just waiting patiently and silently for her to say something, but she could tell he was getting irritated.

"Rick, I lo-" Before she could finish, and before he registered what she was going to say, the door suddenly pushed against Rick, forcing him into Kate's arms.

Kate found herself staring into the author's grey eyes and leaning slightly closer to his lips. He didn't move away, and she could feel his breath tickle against her mouth. She felt her heat growing as memories of the other night flashed into her mind. All she could think about was that she wanted him. Badly.

"What the hell is this?" They both turned in surprise to find a very pissed Meredith standing next to the door, gaping at them.

'Oh shit. This just got bad.' Kate thought.

Ohhhh Kay. I'm not sure if that counted as a cliffhanger, but if it is, I appologise. I was running short against my deadline and wanted to post this before my holidays ended. So, I hope you guys liked it:) if you did, please leave me a review to tell me, so I know how to write the other chapters:D if you didn't, for whatever reason, please let me know so I can improve:) however bad it is, i can take it:) thanks for reading everyone:) see you soon!

Have a good week3

~Lianna


	13. Chapter 13

Rewind, Remix, Replay-13

Hello Guys and Gurls:3 oh kay, I think you guys are gonna like this chapter^^ Meredith and Castle are gonna fight and I'm so sorry for not updating this earlier... I had a horrible bout of stomach flu and couldn't get out of bed. But well, at least I didn't need to go to school and miss out on the Castle Premiere:):):) hahaha:)

My special thanks this time goes to Togetherwewillrise, castlebeckett siempre, cinster, bluetigress, for leaving me some sweet reviews for the previous chapter:D have some cookies!

Disclaimer- If I owned Castle, I would get to hug Stana and Nathan WHENEVER I want. Plus, I'd be rich... So no, I don't think I own them.

#####

"What the hell is going on here!" The red head placed her arms on her hips in agitation as she glared at her ex-husband, who was currently in the arms of her rival; and they were gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. The air was filled with electricity, and she buzzing with furiousity.

The two jumped apart in a second. Kate immediately defended herself, as expected. "This was totally not what it looks like." She shouted, her expression being one of frustration.

"Kate, leave us alone. I'll deal with you later." Kate raised one eyebrow in suspicion, but complied since Rick meant business. She turned to Meredith and paused briefly, before deciding against what she was about to do, and left the house.

Rick waited for the door to close softly with a click, and when it did, turned back to Meredith. "You initated it, didn't you? I KNOW Kate would never treat me as if I was a toy to win."

The woman glowered at being caught and let out a huff. "Actually, she DID. The whole bet was her idea."

"Oh god." Rick groaned. "I always choose the wrong women."

" Oh please, Richard don't be so dramatic! People will think you got that from your mother."

"What are you gonna do about it?" He challenged. She leaned towards him expectantly, only to be rejected by a turn of his head. She sighed.

"Why did you come back this time, Meredith? Was it to take Alexis? Or was it to mess up my entire life by making me destroy my relationships so that I come running back to you?" she seemed visibly disturbed by that comment and looked away in silence. For once, she was not acting.

"Just so you know, I came back to try and renew my relationship with you. You just ignored me! And then that cop came to me and asked for a chance to get you too. I had to defend what was mine!"

"I'm not YOURS, Meredith. You lost that chance about 16 years ago." He had made his decision.

"I am still her mother."

"You're still unstable. You are always working, who knows what could happen to Alexis while you were doing your boss!"

"I took a break from all that. I rejected all the offers from companies to come here and try again with my family." She was almost to tears, but she was letting him see her true self. For a split second, he saw the girl that he fell in love with. But he knew they wouldn't be able to last if they tried again.

"I'm sorry Meredith." He whispered.

"I know. And I'm sorry too. About what happened with us. I wasn't thinking about the consequences when I slept with him, and I deserved what happened." She reached out to touch his cheek lightly and to his and her surprise, he didn't shrink back.

#####

Kate remained outside the door, straining to hear the words exchanged on the other side. Her heart sank and she pulled away from the door after the words "wrong women". So, she had really lost her chance this time eh? Tears welled up in her eyes as she edged her way slowly to the elevator. She heard a soft click of the lock turning and froze. Someone was coming out, and right now, facing either Meredith, or Castle, wasn't a good idea.

'Damn!' she thought as she bit her lips uncomfortably, quickly running behind the emergency exit door. Lest she get caught for eavesdropping. She saw a teary eyed Meredith close the lift doors and walk out into the streets, and realized that Rick might go to her house to talk to her. She scrambled up and ran out of her hiding place, nearly crashing into Alexis, as she was walking in. She mumbled an apology and turned back to escape, but she felt a hand grab her arm, holding her back.

" Kate, wait. Before you run away again, I need to know why you did it. Why you competed with my mom. Did you do it because you thought it was funny? Because you thought that it would be fun to force my dad into choosing one of you?" Alexis' eyes bore straight into hers, with the same intensity that her father had. 'like father, like daughter. ' she thought to herself. 'Who says that Alexis isn't Rick's daughter?'

"Because I'm in love with your dad." She said softly. With such a low tone that she was unsure if Alexis could hear her. Alexis' expression lightened slightly. " I'm sorry for misjudging you." And with that, she turned and walked towards the door. Kate's eyes widened when she realized what Alexis was about to do. "Please don't tell your father about this. I don't want him to choose me over your mom, when he still has feelings for her." Alexis gave a nod of understanding, before going in. "He's gonna find out sometime, Kate. And I hope it's you who tells him. You guys are on equal ground now, if he chooses you over Meredith, it's because he loves you more than her. So don't push him away. Please? He's already suffered so much because of you."

Her words echoed in the quiet hallway, as the door clicked shut. The last things she heard was Castle's voice, asking Alexis who she was talking to, and her reply, which was, to her friend on the phone.

Plunged back into deep silence once again, Kate decided to get up and walk home. After all, the moon was out, and the streets were litted with lights and late night shopping malls. It was a perfect night to be out, actually, if her mood wasn't so down already.

####

When Castle didn't come to the precinct the next day, Kate Beckett was not surprised. She had expected him not to turn up, but she didn't expect her own emotions to be so overwhelming. She was impatient, intolerant, barking and snapping at Ryan and Esposito about every little thing. They were trying to bear with it, for her sake, after all, the past week had been filled with drama and this was obviously taking a toll on Beckett. But everyone had their limits, and they were only too happy to hear her retreat to her desk and sit down with a sigh. She hadn't sat in five hours, so it was probably lunch time for them. Esposito and him quickly got up and ran for the elevator, not asking if she wanted anything.

Beckett closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her headache was killing her. She knew that the boys were trying their best, and she was just snapping at them for no reason other than she needed to. She didn't have her morning coffee and had skipped breakfast so she was bordering on the edge of faint. She didn't even notice the soft footfalls as they made their way to her desk.

She opened her eyes when she hear the slight shuffle of papers being moved. However, all she saw was the plastic bag of Thai take-out, and a cup of coffee by it, with a note.

-Sorry for coming in today. Hope the coffee is okay.

P.S. , I knew you'd skip lunch on top of breakfast and faint if I hadn't brought you this, so take the pills for your headache and enjoy. -

She smiled when she took the sticky note off the steaming hot cup, placed it on her desk, and took a sip. He always knew what she needed, even without him actually seeing her. The note was not signed, but it didn't need to be. She knew who it was from. The food he brought gave her a small comfort that he was still worried about her.

The gesture was the one thing thr kept her going for the rest of the day. She didn't even lose her temper again at Ryan and Esposito. In fact, she actually let them go home early.

As she walked out into the night sky, she felt the tiniest drop of rain splash on her head, and drip down her hair. She thought about opening her umbrella, because she couldn't afford to get sick now, but then she thought "to hell with it." and just let herself get drenched in the rain that began to pour.

It's a miracle that she made it back to her house in one piece. Her instincts told her that she was going to catch a flu, and she should go in and take a shower.

She stepped into the house and didn't even wait until she was in the bathroom to start stripping off her wet clothes.

"Whoa whoa WHOA! Beckett! As much as I can say that I've seen everything already, it's still awkward for you to give me a strip tease since we aren't together." She nearly let out a squeal when she noticed Castle, of all people, standing in the corner of the room, using his hands to cover his eyes.

"CASTLE? What the he- HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?"

###

Well, THIS is an awkward situation... Hahaha.

And how about the new season of Castle? I thought it was totally shipper friendly! And I can't wait for the next episode:) PM me if you want to spazz about it:)

I decided to end it there since I am having my exams and this is almost all the time I had to spare to write. Sorry:( i hope you guys liked this chapter:D thanks for taking the time to read this, it really means a lot to me.

Don't forget to leave me a review to tell me what you think about this chapter, and what you think should, or should not happen in this story:) who knows, I may use your suggestion in later chapters:DD

In a mean time, I hope everyone has a good week! See you next time;)

~Lianna


	14. Chapter 14

Rewind, Remix, Replay-14

Hello everyone! How's your week? I'm just happy that Castle is back :D My Tuesdays are happier now:) it's a great start to the week, don't you think? Sorry for the long wait again:( if I had more incentive, I would write faster;) ha ha ha. and OMG I sent a letter to stana yesterday i hope she gets it in time for Beckett's birthday:$ I still can't believe that my birthday is so close to hers

My special mentions this week go to castlebeckett siempre, BlueTigress, Caskettforever (),

for being so sweet and leaving me with some reviews:D

Oh yeah! Shoutout to all my story alerters! Thanks so much for alerting and reading my story:)

Disclaimer- if I owned castle, Castle and Beckett would make out the entire episode...

#####

Previously:

Italics- "CASTLE? What the he- HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE?"

Beckett grabbed the nearest piece of clothes she could find, which just happened to be Josh's old T-shirt, and held it over her half-nude body. Castle averted his gaze as he handed her a robe that was lying on her bed, since the thin T-shirt she was clutching so tightly didn't do much to cover her tall and slim body. Beckett flushed visibly but tilted her head downwards as she gladly accepted the robe, and proceeded to gracelessly run into the bathroom with whatever dignity she had left.

She reappeared a few minutes later, with her face scrubbed and her hair tied up neatly in a ponytail, dressed in the fluffy pink robe. She had stuffed the T-shirt into the rubbish chute the moment after she entered the room.

"Why detective, pink DOES look good on you. And you really didn't have to go through so much trouble, I've seen everything already." He expected a chuckle of some sorts but got nothing. The only reply she graced him with was curt and to the point.

"What do you want, Castle?" She knew she was supposed to laugh in order to humor him, but she just couldn't summon the energy to. It was already killing her on the insides to see him here, when he had obviously not chosen her. "I just wanted to talk."

"Great. Well, talk away, because that is probably the one and only thing you know how to do." He flinched visibly at her harsh words, and she didn't draw back. Her wall was crumbling and she didn't have much defenses left. He may hurt her today, and she was going to die if he did. So, the only thing left to do was try to push him away, or die trying; but unfortunately for her, other than the initial shock of her words, Castle ignored her completely and started speaking again.

"You're soaked. The rain didn't start until at least 20 minutes after you left. " She looked up in alarm, after figuring out where this was going. She was caught red handed. She looked up at him in anticipation, But he merely raised his eyebrows in question." I'd say you were still outside my door eavesdropping, weren't you? And you were still there when Alexis came home." She tried to rack her mind to formulate an excuse but came up with nothing.

'Damn it! The rain really turned my brain to mush, didn't it? And it has absolutely NOTHING to do with Castle sitting in front of me.' she thought. 'what am I going to say?'

"What do you want Castle? Either you spit it out right now, or you leave; because I have other things to do, instead of just talking to you. " She said sharply.

"I want to know, why, Kate. Why did you stay and listen to me and Meredith? Why did you even agree to the contest in the first place? Why did you sleep with me that night, even though you knew we were drunk?" He stepped forward and looked into her eyes. He saw the anger, the confusion, the guilt; but what he saw that shocked him the most was the fear that she now bared. She was terrified. Not of him, but of what he was implying.

"I-I... I was under the influence of alcohol. So, I had no control over what we were doing. I wasn't thinking when I said anything. It was obviously a mistake. And I shouldn't have stayed. It wasn't worth it." She shook her head and stared back at him stubbornly.

"Kate Beckett, are you in love with me?" He asked her seriously.

"No. I'm not. I don't have any feelings for you." Kate replied. She had to get him out fast, or she will break down in front of him.

"Why do you still lie, Kate? When you and both know that i can see right through you?"

"Castle, you're just deceiving yourself with silly dreams and aspirations of me being in love with you. Stop it. It's clouding your view of reality."

"Silly dreams? I never said anything about dreams. It sounds like YOU'RE the one who is deceiving yourself. "

"I am NOT in love with you. Please leave Castle, I can't deal with you right now." she shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, in an attempt to calm herself down. When she opened her eyes, Castle was standing so close to her that she could feel his breath on her lips. "Care to test that theory?"

He cut her off with a kiss before she could say anything more. It was short, but intense, and it took Kate's breath away. Making buried memories from that night come back and hit her with a vengeance. Hell, she wanted him again. Badly.

At such a close distance, Castle saw her pupils dilate until he could barely see the deep brown in her irises. He could see that even such a short kiss had aroused her immensely, and was slightly surprised at her reaction. Since he himself was trembling on his feet. "Now, do you love me?" He asked shakily, when he finally found his voice. She said nothing, just continued to stare at him. Until something snapped within her.

"Please, Rick. You did what you came to do. So now, please just go."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" He started.

"Yes, you did. You meant it. Now go." She turned away and went to her room, and locked the door, before the dam broke.

The whole place was silent except for the soft sobs that came from behind the locked door. Rick stared blankly at the door and the rest of the house. It was messy and there were pieces of clothes strewn over the place. It had an air of sadness and forgotten memories carefully buried residing in the place. The pitiful atmosphere tore at his heart and he couldn't resist the urge to place his ear at her door. She was still crying, but it was less painful.

"I'm going to go now, but I just wanted to say what I had originally intended. I love you, Kate. And I choose you over her. " He whispered through the door.

He left with a heavy conscience, knowing that he may have just ruined the best thing that he could have ever had.

All the while, in the small and enclosed space of Kate's bedroom, Rick could not hear Kate sobbing "yes" over and over. She lay back onto her tear-soaked pillow, and whispered the words "I love you too", to the empty room.

###

Hey Guys! How was it? I'm going to end this fic soon, but it was great writing it:) don't worry, I'll save all the sappy stuff for the end:) hahaha. Anyway, so what do you think of this chapter? Personally, I wrote it during choir practice when I was sick, so I am not that satisfied with it. But I felt that I should update this fic, instead of waiting so long, so there you have it:) I think this one was too short. So hopefully I can write something longer next chapter…

Some reviews please? It would be a great present for my birthday;) yup! Another year has passed and I'm still alive :D I wanted to upload this before Sunday, because I will be so busy I have so many concerts to prepare for, and lots of work to do.

I'll update as fast as I can, but only if I can find the time, because my schedule is fully packed. And I am not even doing NaNo... Lol :) okay i will stop rambling now, before I bore you guys to death :)

Hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a review on your way out and see you next time!

~Lianna


	15. Chapter 15

Rewind, Remix, Replay-15

Hey guys,

I'm so sorry:( my computer sort of crashed and could not be repaired, therefore, I couldn't post this chapter sooner.

So, I'm back again:) hopefully this chapter is better than the last, although I had kind of a writer's block and my muse had run into the hills. Because of the lack of inspiration, I had to change the point of views of characters. So, please note that in this chapter, the point of view may vary. Thanks;)

Also, this is the last chapter for a while, because I'm going for a hiatus. I need to write more chapters first, before I start posting again. The long version of my explanation is in the most recent chapter of my other story, Once Broken, Considered Sold. I won't be gone long. I appreciate you guys waiting for me and seek your understanding.

I owe a big thanks to castlebeckett siempre, BlueTigress, lv2bnsb1, locawriterbitch, for all the reviews they sent me. I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to tell me straight out what you thought about my story.

disclaimer- If I owned castle, castle and Beckett would be tearing each other up on a park bench right now.

###

Things had made a swift change at the precinct in a period of a few days. Ever since Kate walked into the Captain's office and requested for a few weeks of leave.

She needed some time off work because of a personal need to reevaluate her priorities, was the only thing she told Captain Gates before disappearing.

Castle would have to work with Esposito and Ryan, during the time of Beckett's absence, because Captain Gates didn't want to let the absence of one of her best detectives cause a dip in the crime solving rate. She couldn't afford that if she wanted a promotion soon. One step closer to her goal.

She had broken the news to the team after calling them into the office. See, Gates was a rational woman, who didn't want anything to interfere with her career plan, but she wasn't a cruel one. After spending time with the young detective, she had grown slightly more comfortable towards her and her team. Therefore, when the usually strong willed and professional team leader came into the office way earlier than usual, she could tell something was up.

Italics:

The detective spoke in a hurried fashion, with an edge of panic creeping into her voice, as she requested for a time away from work. She glanced at the empty bullpen every few minutes, jumping slightly if she heard footsteps coming towards her.

"Beckett, are you sure you're alright?" Gates had asked.

"Yes, sir. I'm just in a hurry. I don't want to be late. " Beckett had replied quietly. "I trust that you will keep the news of my leave with discretion? I would prefer it if only my team would know."

"Beckett, you know as well as I do, that people will say what they want, but I will personally inform your team, if that's what you want."

"Thank you sir. I appreciate it." The young detective said before quickly running out of the precinct.

Gates looked out the window to see the sun just beginning to rise above the shadows of the skyscrapers.

#-# end italics.

"I can't believe Beckett didn't even bother to tell us that she was going away."

"Well, don't be so down Ryan, maybe she had other things on her mind."

"How bad could it have been? She didn't even think that we would wanna know that she was leaving! Even if it's just for a while..."

"Well, you know Beckett. She plays her cards close to her vest. It's probably a private matter like Castle, or something."

"Dude! You don't think that Castle was the reason for her leave, do you?"

"I don't know. The two of them have been acting pretty strangely for the past few days."

"Yeah. Ever since Mere-. THAT'S IT!" Ryan exclaimed, causing more than a few heads to turn.

"What's it, Detective Ryan?" Captain Gates seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and tapped the startled Detective on his shoulder, making him jump.

"It's okay ma'am. Detective Ryan and I were just discussing some leads on the new case." Esposito cut in, quickly saving Ryan.

"In that case, i should think that your team will be bringing a suspect in soon, then? Should I get the interrogation room ready?" She asked, half turning towards the room.

"Not yet, but I'm sure we will have one in custody soon." Castle strode into the bullpen right on cue, flashing a charming smile at them.

"Your charm is futile, Mr Castle. Go and catch the guy, and then we'll talk. " Gates said before turning on her heel and walking back into her office.

"Well, geez, looks like SOMEONE woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Castle said, with a cup of coffee in each hand. "Where's Beckett?"

"She suddenly called and said she had to take a term of leave." Ryan said as he turned back to his computer.

Esposito flashed a quick smile at Castle, and deftly snatched one of the cups from his hands and took a sip, ignoring the look on Castle's face. His expression turned into a half squint at the first taste, and turned away to attempt to swallow it. "Ugh. There isn't any sugar in here. Why does she drink this?"

"She needs the caffeine." Castle replied simply. He pulled up his chair next to Ryan and Esposito's desks and watched them do paperwork. He stayed there till lunch, with the occasional paper ball fights between them.

###

The cold liquid burned a trail that could be felt from her throat to her stomach as she swallowed it, and put the once-again-empty glass onto the barcounter. "Hit me again." She gasped to the bartender, who personally felt that she had taken way too many drinks already.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! I asked for another glass of the good stuff, in case you didn't hear me the first time." The girl shouted over the loud disco music that was making his ears pound. Her words were already slightly slurred, and he quietly shook his head as he started to prepare the drink. 'Probably guy troubles..' He thought.

Just as he was about to pour what was going to be her twelfth glass, a hand blocked his way.

"It's okay, she's with me. She doesn't need that glass anymore." A blonde girl with a pretty smile said, and quickly dropped some cash in front of him, and pulled the brunette girl away from the counter. She looked back over her shoulder at something her friend said, and gave him a grateful and slightly awkward grin as she dragged her friend away.

###

"Maddy! What are you doing? I was having a good time... That guy was cute, wasn't he? "

"Oh my god, Kate, stop talking! He's looking at us! What the hell happened to get you so stoned drunk at this kind of bar?" Maddison said as she pulled her best friend into a cab and sped off to her place. She herself had been supposed to meet one of her dates at the bar that night, but she immediately cancelled it when she saw her friend shouting at the bartender for another drink, with a mountain of glasses next to her. Kate couldn't even recognize her at first, which just proved how drunk she was.

Kate was silent the whole cab ride. She had probably nodded off due to the excess amount of alcohol she had just taken. Madison nearly had to drag her friend's body to her lift, but thanks to her nice security guard in the building, she managed to avoid it.

After getting Kate into her guest room, Madison finally slumped onto the couch and called her date to apologize. They ended up having a very long conversation until she decided to retreat into her own room because she would definitely not get anything out of Kate that night.

But the next day was a completely different thing...

###

Rick paced up and down in the empty hallway. He had knocked on the door many times, and no one had answered. He was about to break in, but then he rememered that she was a cop, and she would kill him when she finds out. She was supposed to be at home, wasn't she? Why would she be out so late at night? Could she be in trouble?

After waiting for another 20 minutes, he decided that she could very well be in danger, and did something quite drastic.

"Hey. It's me. Listen, I need a favor. Yeah, it's sort of urgent."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Alright! I'm finished with this chapter;) Like I said before, this is gonna be the last chapter for a while, so... Sorry for the cliff hanger:P it's not too bad, is it? Yes, I know its way too short.. sorry:/ again.

I thought it might be interesting to write in Captain Gates' point of view, since in most of the stories, she was portrayed as a mean character. Not pinpointing anyone, though. I think there are many writers out there who are able to write stuff that I can only dream about writing. I hope it was mostly in character:P but yeah, I know, Beckett is a little OOC in this story:/ but hey, it's fanfiction:3

I'm gonna try to finish up my two stories soon, so that I can start new ones. So, that's why I'm taking a hiatus. I may attempt to write an NCIS one, but I think I may fail at it hahaha. I'll probably come up with more Castle stories too:D

Happy New Year everyone;) Hope your 2012 will be better than 2011:3 I cant wait for all the series' to start again:D

Until next time,

~Lianna


	16. Chapter 16

Rewind, Remix, Replay-16

Hello! I did something crazy for this chapter:) well, just to say, I did warn you guys a while ago, that I may bring in a few more guest stars;) haha. And so, this is the result of my holidays, that were spent watching TV. Sorry I took so long in writing this. I had a bad case of writer's block and the only way was to start a new fanfic, and another book.. ***headslaps self***

Also, I have reached my record of writing 6 fanfictions and novels at one time:/ Ugh, I know. It's gonna be a mess hahaha:) I hope you enjoy this chapter :D

Disclaimer- Given the fact that I have so many fandoms, I won't be allowed to own one:(

###

"She's at 24th District Avenue, apartment 304. "

"Thank you, Tim. Sorry for calling so late."

"It's okay. I'm still at the office finishing up some paperwork anyway, so it's the least I could do."

"How's everything in D.C.? Your Tommy and Lisa still fighting their feelings?"

"Everything's fine, it's just been really busy lately. Actually, they started dating about two months ago. They wouldn't tell me how or why though. What about you? How's your Nikki?"

"Actually, she's the reason I called."

"Oh, she's not in trouble, is she?"

"I hope not."

"Hey Probie! Time to go. Me and Ziva are heading off for supper, you want in?" Another distinct voice came from the other line. It sounded like he was further away, and Tim was trying to cover the mouthpiece.

"Yeah, I don't mind. But one kiss that lasts for more than 3 seconds and I'm out of there. I'm not gonna sit there like a third wheel for the next 15 minutes like last time." Tim's reply was muffled, but it was clear enough for Rick to chuckle when he heard it. "Sorry Rick, I gotta go. Call you soon."

"Sure, have a good time with Tony and Ziva!"

"I'll try. Who knows, with them? They could be planning some prank against me that will be my downfall for all I know."

The smile faded as soon as he put down the phone. She had probably taken off with some random guy she met in a bar, and slept over at his apartment. The thought itself disgusted him, and yet, at the same time, filled him with disappointment.

She wasn't home, therefore, there was no reason for him to stay any longer than necessary. He should have moved on while he could. With Meredith. Alexis liked the new her, and frankly, she did seem like she was trying hard to repair their marriage. It might have worked this time.

He sighed and walked into the elevator, leaning against the farthest corner away from the exit, as the doors shut. Who was he kidding? None of his marriages ever worked out. What difference was marrying the same one again? Leopards don't change their spots. Even if their fur is shaved off.

###

Kate sensed that the sun rays were casting themselves into the room. She half tossed the covers off her body becasue it was too hot. Her arms felt so stiff that it hurt to bend them. She tried to sit up and immediately gave up after a groan. Her head felt like there were millions of jackhammers hitting it. Her eyes felt like there were weights barring her from opening them. Her throat was so dry that it hurt to even feel air rushing down her windpipe as she took a breath.

She forced herself to open her eyes and froze. Her curtains were always shut at night; because she hated to wake up to the sun shining into her face. She suddenly panicked at the fact that she was somewhere unfamiliar.

She quickly got up and ignored the feeling of blood suddenly rushing into her brain while she attempted to open the door.

"BECKS! what the heck are you doing?" She looked up drowsily, and saw Maddison running towards her to help her stand. "You shouldn't be trying to walk. I bet your head is hurting like a bitch, right? It's from your hangover because of the crazy amount of alcohol you took last night. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Drinking so much like that. If I wasn't there, what do you think might have happened to you?"

Maddie still talked just as fast as the last time they met. Well, at least some things don't change.

"Maddie. You changed your guest room..." She said, while trying to wake herself up.

"Oh! Right... I made some renovations to my apartment last month. You're the first guest to stay in it since." She gave her a big smile and gave her a glass of water, which she gladly accepted. The warm liquid soothed her burning throat, even though it took more force and pain to swallow it than usual.

"Thanks Maddie...for letting me stay here last night." She managed to rasp out. Her voice sounded so unfamiliar even to her own ears. She must have been REALLY drunk for her memory of the past night to completely disappear.

"No biggie, Becks; but now you owe me an explanation. What were you doing there, alone for that matter? At first I assumed that there was some guy with you, and then I noticed that you were trying to flirt with the bartender. " The blonde leaned across the table to watch her friend's response. "I rate you a 4 out of 10. 2 points for being hot, and another 2 for trying while you were drunk. "

Kate dropped her face into her palms and groaned. " Ugh, it was THAT bad? God, I must have made a fool out of myself."

"I know it's not helping but, you kind of did." She shrugged when her friend shot her a death glare, although it dropped in intensity because of her hangover.

"Say, Becks, don't you have work today? You shouldn't have been drinking last night then. Do you need me to drop you off?" Her friend asked good naturedly.

"No need, Maddie, but thanks. I took some days off." She gave her a look that said 'don't ask', and she decided not to push.

Something was up with her best friend, and it probably was so serious that unless Kate were to tell her herself, she wasn't going to get anything out of her.

###

Kate bid goodbye to her friend as she went into the elevator to her own apartment. When she got off at her floor, she was just in time to see her next door neighbor opening her apartment after going to the market. She was about 58, and lived alone. So, Kate found it easy to make small talk with her, so she never hesitated to strike up conversation when she had the chance.

"Hello dear, did that young man manage to catch you last night?"

"What guy? There was a guy here?" Kate stepped away from her door, and approached the girl curiously.

"Yes, pretty cute too. He looked like a real good match for you, actually." The girl winked at her mischievously and said suggestively.

"Wait. So there was a guy here? How long did he stay here for? He didn't go in, did he?"

"I just said that I saw a guy out here last night. He seemed to be waiting for you, and was quite disappointed that you didn't come home last night. He left after making a phone call."

"What did he look like?"

"You know, now that you mention it, he kind of reminded me of the guy on one of those books that you lent me last week."

"Damn it, Castle." She muttered to herself before thanking her neighbor and going into her apartment.

Rick had been waiting there the night before. That meant that he must have thought that she spent the night with some guy that she randomly picked up at a bar. He had told her that he loved her, chosen her over Meredith, and she didn't even acknowledge that it had happened. She probably would have just picked up a random guy if Maddie hadn't been around to stop her. It was during these situations that Kate was sincerely grateful for having friends like her around.

She gracelessly flopped herself down onto her couch, and leaned her head against the cushions. Her splitting headache was still as strong as ever, and she was having a hard time concentrating on one thing. Even if that one thing was Rick Castle. He had said those three little words that every woman wanted to hear, to her. Right after that spine-tingling kiss. Instead of telling him those words, she pushed him away because she didn't know how else to react. It was a desperately wrong decision, and for all she knew, he may have given up on her already.

She gave a huge sigh. Why did the simplest things have to end up being the most difficult of them all? It would have made life so much easier if things weren't so complicated.

###

Hello my dear readers:) as you can see, I'm back from my hiatus;) hopefully I can update more often now. I hope there are still some readers out there who are reading my story!

Hello? Anyone? *is greeted by the cricket choir* Damn…

Ah well, I guess I deserve it for taking such a long time to update eh? So, would any of you readers be so kind as to leave me some reviews for encouragement? I'm trying to reach a target teehee ;) but I'm not gonna say how much at the moment :P BTW I am extra sorry for the short chapter! I'll try to make the next one longer:3 more action is promised :D but reviews first ;) heehee…

Anyway, I'll see you guys in my next chapter :)

~Lianna


	17. Chapter 17

Rewind, Remix, Replay-17

A/N: Hello:) I'm back! How's everybody doing? You guys are still here right? *crickets chirp* ._. oh well. I promised a chapter. Here you go! I apologize for its extreme shortness. I wrote this in between my studying time and lunch break. I hope you enjoy reading my story! Relax people, I'm not going to drag it out much longer, at least I hope not;) I hope you guys don't kill me for saying this, but this is probably going to be the second last chapter. Just to add on to that, I wanted to let you guys know that I have already written the last chapter, and I will base the decision on whether there will be an epilogue according to the response for this chapter. Also, would any one of you want an M rated scene in the next chapter? It's optional, but since I did it before, I wouldn't mind doing it again. I thought you may want a say in this, so… ANYWAY, PLEASE ENJOY THE CHAPTER^^

Disclaimer- Riiight. And I own the X files too. I got the box set as a Valentine's Day present. Seriously. I have the NCIS, FRIENDS, and X FILES box sets:) hahaha;)

###

_I love you._

He had actually said it first. Who would have thought ? He had said it to her without thinking, and had wanted to talk to her and take it back that night. That was, until he found out that she had gone and picked up a guy in a bar. That just shocked him to no ends. She wasn't that kind of person, but the fact that she did made him realize that perhaps, he didn't know her quite as well as he thought he did.

Speaking of people, he had been slightly surprised at the news that Tony and Ziva had started dating. It wasn't that they weren't compatible. They were, in fact, a match made in heaven. However, they have never ever been on the same page. They're always beating on different frequencies, so most people thought that they would probably not be able to even tell the other how they felt. Honestly, he had bet on them just sleeping together, and then everything would go back to normal. It seemed to be their liked each other, that was for sure, but for them to start dating and still be able to stick together, it showed that even the unlikeliest of couples can pull through whatever obstacles they encounter.

He hadn't seen anyone from the DC side in ages. The last time he saw anyone was when he had a book tour there, and Tim had dragged him over to meet everyone and convinced him to extend his stay for a few days. He had met Tim during a book festival during a writers' session. He had talked about his characters as if they were real people, and he asked him about it later. They became good friends after they began to share stories about their workplace.

He found the situation with Tony and Ziva fascinating, to say the least. She had replaced his former partner after she was killed in action, and they had a love-hate relationship from the beginning.

Heck, if they could do it, so could he and Beckett. He would have jumped right in willingly headfirst, except for the fact that it was now never going to happen.

###

Kate sat on her couch and sighed for the umpteenth time. What was she going to do with herself? She was such a hopeless case. First, she started this whole mess by bringing about the stupid competition. Then, she locked the guy she loved out when he told her he loved her. After that, she avoided all her friends and refused to try and explain herself. To top it off, she ruined herself by going to the bar and making it seem like she had slept with some stranger at the bar.

He loved her. He LOVED her. He loved HER, of all people. The fact that she now knew that, coupled with the fact that she knew that he would never come back again, made her want to strangle herself.

Her phone was dead, but when she plugged it into her charger, her phone buzzed endlessly with messages and missed calls. "Shit!" she swore out loud into the empty apartment. There were 5 missed calls from Rick, 7 from Lanie, and 2 from Maddie that morning.

She quickly sent texts to to Lanie and Maddie, informing them that she had reached home safely, and apologizing for not picking up the night before. She didn't dare send anything to Castle, lest he infer or pick up something that she may have unconciously hinted at.

She left her things on the table and went to take a hot shower, but she couldn't stop wondering about what Castle thought when she didn't come back. She stepped out of her slippers onto the cold tiled bathroom floor, and shivered unintentionally. It was cold. She wondered how cold it was last night, and how long did Castle wait outside for her before giving up. Her head immediately groaned in protest at the emotional stress that she was putting over herself. She turned the dial all the way to red and let the water flow onto her body.

The hot, scalding, water rained down upon her head, her skin turned red from the heat, but she didn't bother to move from her position. Her entire body ached of having too much alcohol to drink the other night, and she couldn't be bothered to lift her hands to turn the water down. She stood there, just thinking, for the next few minutes, before coming to an epiphany when her finders became pruny, and quickly soaped herself up.

The guilt tore at her until she finally pulled her phone from the charger and left the house to personally apologize to him. Only, she didn't count on traffic, and the fact that she would actually REACH there.

Before long, she found herself standing outside his door, similar to a previous situation, with not a clue of what to say or do.

###

Castle was glad to finally wake up in his own bed after a few hours of sleep. He never underestimated the power of a bed, after a horrible day. He had come back after midnight, and got a surprising lecture from Martha, who had been waiting up for him. He checked on his daughter on the way to his room, after Martha said that she had been waiting for him, to make sure she was okay. He was relieved to find that she was sound asleep in bed.

He woke up to find both Alexis and Martha out, and notes saying that they went to a date with friends, and shopping with an ex colleague respectively. He stood in the middle of the kitchen, reading the notes, wearing his robe because he had not fully woken up enough to change. He had not woken up enough to notice the warm cup of coffee present on the table.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him, and the voice of Beckett drifted into his ear. "Martha let me in, and Alexis made coffee for me. There's one for you on the table, you'd have notice it if you weren't so unaware when you're half asleep."

"Beckett," He said in a clipped voice. "What suddenly made you want to see me? Some epiphany you had last night during your after-sex introductory talk?"

"It wasn't so much as 'after-sex' as it was a sleepover. I spent the night at Maddie's, after getting so drunk I nearly passed out." She said evenly. Her eyes took in his reaction, her mind trying to guess what he was thinking, and how he might feel about them during this situation. His eyes widened, and he immediately looked apologetic and slightly guilty. A sign that her plan had worked.

"What's the matter Castle? You thought I had picked up some guy last night?" She asked, knowing the real answer. She expected him to tell her everything, but his response was unexpected. It seemed Lanie had been right, she really had a lot of things that she didn't know about the man standing in front of her.

"N-no. And even if you did, it'd be none of my business, Beckett. I wouldn't want to concern myself with any of your affairs, lest you mistake my intentions." He replied, as he drank his coffee. He needed to be awake, in order to be part of this conversation. He was half wanting to tell her that he was waiting for her, and that he was so worried for her safety; but he decided that it would be best to let it go, since she didn't reciprocate his feelings. If he had come straight out and say it, it would have been very awkward because she would have wanted to run away again. Maybe this time, she would really pick up some guy at a bar.

"Castle, it's okay. I completely understand. You were worried, and you merely came over to check on me. I don't mind. I think it's kind of sweet, actually." She smiled kindly at him, although there was some measure of puzzlement in her expression. He frowned at her, and she got even more confused. He didn't seem at all relieved, or even sorry he did it. It was more like he was wondering how much did she know about it.

"Wait. You didn't break in, did you?" She suddenly changed her tone to a slightly more serious one, and tilted her head sideways to look at him.

"No! I wouldn't bother. Is that all you came to tell me? Seems like a lot of effort for something you can just tell me on the phone." He replied her. His eyes showing none of his emotions or thoughts that were swirling around in his head.

Suddenly, Kate realised the state she was in, and what she must have seemed like to him. She immediately shut down and retreated. "I'm sorry, Castle. You're right, I shouldn't have bothered you. I can let myself out, have a nice day."

He literally saw the bolts slam down over her heart, and realised that in his delusion, he completely ignored the simple fact that she was the one who came over. She WANTED to see him. Although he regretted his mistake, he knew that she was hurt, and nothing he said was going to take it back. He turned around and let her go, restraining himself from calling her back.

She paused at the doorway, as if she just remembered what she came here to do. Her back was still facing him when she spoke.

"I love you too, Rick."

Before he could pick up his slack jaw, she ran out the door and tried to get as far away from him as possible.

###

Keke. Evil Cliffhanger? Sorry. :) see, I'm having exams tomorrow, so I just can't write anymore. You'll just have to read the next chapter;) Although, I sincerely apologize for not being a good author and updating so slowly. I promised to write faster, didn't I? I'll be writing non stop after my exam ends, but that will be a long time ahead. I am writing with every spare moment I have though. According to your response, I may be able to put the next chapter within the month. [I don't want to say 'last chapter' until I decide if I want to do an epilogue. Its up to you guys^^]

Please leave me a review to let me know what you think. Also, if you have any suggestions, or find any part of the story that doesn't fit, please let me know:) I'll be eternally grateful. Don't forget to let me know if you guys want an epilogue. Thanks so much for reading anyways! I had a fun ride with this story, and I hope I can improve even more in the future.

All the Best!

~Lianna


	18. Chapter 18 Final Chapter

Rewind, Remix, Replay-18

A/N: Hello fellow readers! This chapter is the confrontation! :) As probably most of you/all of you know, this is the last chapter... I just want to say, that I really enjoyed writing this fanfiction and that I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it:) This was my first multichapter fanfiction in the world of Fanfiction, and through this time, it's really been an eye opener to see how do other people write fics. Thank you everyone for all your support! Now, without further ado, happy reading for the last chapter:) I made it T rated so don't worry^^

Disclaimer-Own it? Please! I'd be dying with happiness just to even be able to talk to/get autographs from Stana and Nathan. One day...I will go to the other side of the world and finally meet them;) until then, I'll be here to write fanfics and make you guys happy:)

###

He stood there stunned. Kate Beckett had just told him that she loved him, and ran off before he could even do or say anything. He picked his jaw off the floor and tried to calm himself down.

He quickly gulped down the last of his remaining coffee, and went to open the front door in the hope that she might still be there. She wasn't; but he knew exactly where she would be.

There was only one place that she would go to hide, other than her home.

###

The suddenness of his voice slightly startled the other officers who were doing over time paperwork at the twelfth. "Hey guys! Who wants some pick me up? It's on the house!"

It was easy enough to find her. Everyone else working at the precinct got up and went to him to take up his offer of free snacks and drinks. She simply paid no attention to his arrival. He simply left the bag on one of the tables, and walked up to her desk.

"Hey Beckett." He leaned down in front of her desk and tried to get her attention. She didn't look at him, instead, she focused even more of her attentions on the paperwork in the folder. Since that didn't work, Castle sat down in his usual seat at the side of her desk, and waited.

It took her all of ten minutes to come out and say it. "Castle, what are you doing here?" Her voice sounded fatigued and resigned, and Rick felt his heart sink as he knew that all of this was because of him.

"I'm sorry, Kate." She paused in her typing, and turned to look at him. Her eyes were slightly red, and it was clear that she had been crying not too long ago. He felt even worse, knowing what must have run through her mind.

"Castle, there's nothing for you to be sorry about. I didn't mean what I said just now. I just said those things because I was upset. "

"Well, that's a shame, because I meant it when I said it the last time." Castle smiled and waited for her reaction with baited breath, and for a minute, she didn't respond. She just kept looking at her files and ignoring him. He got impatient after a while, and started to check his twitter account.

He almost didn't notice when she got up and went to the break room to get a coffee refill. He waited for a few seconds so he did not seem as desperate as he was, before heading there himself. He didn't skip out on the fact that by the time she went into the break room, most of the people had left the bullpen.

###

The first thought she had was 'How the hell did he manage to find me?'

After getting away from his apartment, she had immediately dismissed the idea of going home, because it would be too easy for him. Instead, she headed to the twelfth, thinking that he wouldn't even bother to check there because she was technically, on leave.

Gates had just given her a look when she requested to stay there a while, just to finish up her paperwork, before going on a 'proper holiday'. Captain Gates did not comment on her sudden arrival, nor did she hesitate too long in giving her full permission to stay as long as she wanted.

Grateful, she had begun her work in peace, although occasionally, she had gone to the ladies to stop the tears from flowing as she tried to get her mind off of Castle's rejection. It was as if he didn't want anything to do with her, even if she were to explain herself. He didn't care about her at all; he may not even have meant it the first time.

Her heart started pounding the moment she heard his shoes walk of the elevator. She was so tempted to look up at him, but she resisted the urge and continued to ignore him. He had just used the entire precinct to find out if she was there, and to be honest, she was sort of impressed by it.

She forced her hand to keep flipping the pages and her eyes focused on the files and her computer screen, and not be rendered useless when he came up to her desk. She could almost hear the smile in his voice when he greeted her with a "Hey Beckett". She got even more dismayed when he began to act as if nothing was wrong with the situation. He simply sat on his chair and waited for her to respond. Usually, she secretly enjoyed his undivided attention, but today, she found it extremely irritating.

She finally stopped typing to ask him what he was doing there with resignation in her tone. She knew he would pick it up instantly, and she was right. His mood seemed to take a dip, and his tone became serious too. He apologized, which Beckett knew was sincere. So, she granted him a small mercy by sparing him a glance. He seemed to wither even more when she met his eyes.

She told him that she didn't mean what she said, but she knew that even a kindergardener would know that she was lying. If a child could see right through her, how much more could a published writer see? She was taken aback by his response, though. She would have never expected to say that.

The emotions coursed through her veins, but the only thing she portrayed on the outside was nonchalance. She knew he was waiting for her, but she didn't want to respond to it immediately. He turned his attention to his phone a while later, and she nearly sighed in frustration. If he couldn't be patient enough to let a girl think, how patient would he be when he proposes? She stood up suddenly to shake away the last thought, and grabbed her mug to make an excuse to get away from him.

She had already walked into the breakroom when she remembered that Castle had bought them the coffeemaker. She nearly screamed in frustration. He was constantly occupying her thought, she couldn't even make a cup of coffee without thinking of him somehow.

Before she noticed the footsteps, the door closed behind her and she heard the lock click.

###

Kate spun around to find herself face to face with the guy she had been trying to escape. Again. Damn it! She should have known that he was going to follow her. Her reflex was to place her hand on his chest and push him away, but he countered her actions by taking her hand and pulling her closer to him. Her eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the cup of coffee she was holding.

He seemed to read her mind, for he reached out and took the coffee cup and set it on the table, before placing both his arms around her, barring her from her path to the exit.

"Castle, let me go." Her voice came out as a low growl. She wanted to sound threatening, but she came across as aroused instead. It almost sounded like a plea.

"No way. Not until we talk." He only leaned back to close the shades to give them some privacy.

"Not here, Castle." Kate glared at him, but she didn't try to move.

"Let's face it. If it's any other place, you wouldn't even hesitate to run. There IS no other place." He crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. She however, found it hot, and just got more aroused, even though she kept telling her mind to stop filling her head with images of Castle and her making out.

"I hate you! Why do you have to make things so difficult? I can't stand you!" She spat out. She stepped forward and punched him on the shoulder. "I hate you!"

"I know. I'm sorry." He said gently, as he accepted all of the hits she rained down upon him, and hugged her to himself. She kept on until she choked up and he could feel moisture on his shirt. She was crying. He slowly stroked her hair and rubbed circles on her back, knowing it would help her calm down.

All of a sudden, Kate reached up and kissed him. At first, he didn't know how to respond. He wasn't sure she was doing this because her emotions were running wild, and she was in need of comfort, or that she really wanted him. It was only when her hands slid into his hair, that he came to his senses and kissed her back. He pushed her against the counter, and she stood in between his legs.

She slid her hands down to his chest, and started unbottoning his shirt. It was then, that Castle pulled away and backed off. He didn't get very far though, for her arms had went around his neck to prevent him from moving far away from her. They were both panting, and it took a while for them to get their voice back. Castle was first.

"We shouldn't do this, Kate. Not here. Not like this." He said as he quickly buttoned up his shirt to avoid temptation. She refused to meet his eyes until he put his hand under her chin and tilted her face up to face him.

"Why? You never wanted a relationship with me, did you? All you wanted was my body! I gave that to you already the other night. What else is new?" She said out of anger. She already knew that he wanted more than that with her, but she was so frustrated that her feelings came out in the wrong way.

"Kate. I don't just want your body, i want your heart, if you are willing to give it to me." He stroked her hand and gave her a small smile that made her smile shyly back at him.

"Let's go to my place, maybe we can talk more later. " Kate said, as she grabbed her bag from the seat, and turned to go.

"Since when do we EVER talk?" Rick chuckled, and then his expression turned serious for a minute. He tugged on her hand to make her stop walking. "Kate, wait. Are you really sure you want this?"

She turned and looked at him strangely, as if she was seriously considering it. For a minute, he thought he could see her confused emotions bubbling just below her cool exterior. Then, the moment passed and she cocked her head and shot him a smile that he found absolutely adorable. "Castle, I already said 'I love you'. What more do you want from me?"

"I could think of a lot more things, actually." He gave her a cheeky smile that made her insides melt, but she decided to hold her feelings back until they were in private.

"Save it for your books, Castle." She tossed him a playful grin.

"You mean I-" His hopeful look was shot down by Kate, who was walking in front of him.

"Nope." She smirked as she turned around and tapped his lips with her finger. When she felt him smile, her hand trailed down to his and intertwined their fingers together.

She pulled on his hand and led him into the elevator. Just as the doors shut, she pulled him towards her and collided her lips with his. This time, he didn't hesitate to kiss her back.

###

Rick woke up to find Kate snuggled up against his side. Her arms were curled around his middle and her head rested in the crook of his neck.

The good thing was that he was still shocked that they were together after so long, and he was feeling so happy that he could barely express it in words. The bad thing was that he could not move without waking Beckett, and waking her up would be like pulling a lion's tail.

He attempted to move himself further away from her, but the moment he tried, her arms around him tightened considerably. Rick couldn't stop a smile from crossing his face when she snuggled into his side even more. He knew she was already awake, but didn't want to move.

"Kate, you're gonna have to get up sometime." He said gently.

"Sometime can be later." came her muffled reply as she buried her head against his shoulder. "I want to sleep."

"Well, we're probably not going to do much sleeping, then." He pulled some strands of her hair away from her cheek and whispered into her ear. She mumbled something and turned away, refusing to relinquish his blanket. He slowly trailed kisses from her neck to her chest, and finally met her mouth when she groaned and turned over to face him.

"That was easier than I thought." Rick chuckled as he got her to release him and quickly put on his clothes. He was walking towards the bathroom when he heard her say "Hey. We're really together now, right? No more games?"

He turned around to see her already in one of his old T-shirts, sitting on his bed, looking troubled. He crossed over to her and kissed her on the cheek, but she turned so that he met her lips instead. He pulled away quickly, before things got too heated and they became late for work.

"Katherine Beckett, I love you, and I will follow you to the ends of the earth if you needed me to, and I can also stay on the other side of the globe if you need me to. I would spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy if you want. Yes, we really are doing this." This made her smile, one that made her face light up. She bit her lip and said shyly "I love you too, Richard Castle. And instead of using flowery words, I'll keep it simple. I'd die for you, knowing that you'll always be in my heart. I would do anything and everything to stay by your side."

These were also the same words used in their vows exchanged on their wedding day a few years later.

At this, the couple left the room feeling that all was right in the world for just that one moment, because sometimes, one moment is all you need to last an entire lifetime.

###

*stretches* all right! I'm finally done~ I wanted to do an epilogue, but I thought this ending looked better than the other one:) I'll probably turn that idea into a one shot sometime:) hahaha I'm proud to mark this story as complete now, but I gotta admit, I'm gonna miss this one. I learned a lot from writing this. And I made lots of new friends here :D Hey but before you go, could all of you be kind enough to leave me a review for the last time?

For all the readers who have been reading this since chapter 1, a GREAT BIG THANK YOU HUG TO ALL OF YOU. I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did.

I also want to do a shout out to every single person who has reviewed my story. They have really been a great help and a good encouragement during my down times. I know I didn't reply to some of you, but I read each and every review many many times. Thank you so so much:)

Like what people say, it's been real guys! I hope you guys may consider reading some of my other fanfics in future, but if you don't want to, thanks for reading this one:) I wish you all the best in your real lives!

Signing off for the last time here,

~Lianna


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